
Book_jii(- 



^ ' 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME. 



PLUTARCH FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. Selected and 
edited by Prof. John S. White. Quarto, with many 
illustrations . . . . . . . . $3 oo 

This edition contains all the " Lives" and " Parallels " in Plutarch's own words, with such 
omissions only as were necessary to adapt them for young readers. There is also an Introduc- 
tion and Life of Plutarch by the editor. As a standard work, adapted to both boys and girls, 
its wealth of anecdote and faithful portrayal of character render it peculiarly valuable. 

" Precious ore and no dross." — Home Journal. 

" It is a pleasure to see in so beautiful and elegant a form, one of the great books of the 
world. The best Plutarch for young readers." — Literary World. 

" Shows admirable scholarship and judgment." — The Critic. 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK and LONDON. 



iiiiiiiiiiiiii 




THE 



BOYS' AND GIRLS' 



HERODOTUS 



PARTS OF THE HISTORY OF HERODOTUS 



Edited for Boys and Girls, with an Introduction 



V 



JOHN S. WHITE, LL.D. 

HEAD-WASTER, BERKELEY SCHOOL ; EDITOR OF THE BOYs' AND GIRLs' PLUTARCH 



WITH FIFTY ILLUSTRATION'S 



OFC( 



SEP 8 1884 

NEW YORK & LONDON ^<4 P^ V'n <'V»»»'^ 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
Vi^t llmckcrbockcr ^rcss 



9> 



X-^' 



COPYRIGHT BY 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 



'd 



INTRODUCTION. 



Imagine yourself in the city of Athens near the close of the 
year 446 b.c. The proud city, after many years of supremacy over 
the whole of Central Greece, has passed her zenith, and is surely 
on the decline. She has never recovered from the blow received 
at Coronea. The year has been one of gloom and foreboding. 
The coming spring will bring the end of the five years' truce ; and 
an invasion from the Peloponnesus is imminent. But, as the centre 
of learning, refinement, and the arts, the lustre of her fame is yet 
undimmed, and men of education throughout the world deem their 
lives incomplete until they have sought and reached this intel- 
lectual Mecca. During this year a stranger from Halicarnassus, in 
Asia Minor, after many years of travel in Asia, Scythia, Libya, 
Egypt, and Magna Grsecia, has taken up his abode at Athens. He 
is still a young man, hardly thirty-seven, yet his fame is that of the 
first and greatest of historians. Dramatists and poets immortal 
there have been, but never man has written such exquisite prose. 
Twenty centuries and more shall wear away, and his history will 
be read in a hundred different tongues, as well as in the beautiful 
and simple Greek that he wrote. His name will grow into a 
household word ; the school- boy will revel in his delightful tales, 
and wise men will call him the Father of History ! For weeks the 
people of Athens have listened entranced to the public reading of 
his great work, and now the Assembly has passed a decree tender- 
ing to him the city's thanks, together with a most substantial gift in 
recognition of his talents — a purse of money equal to twelve 
thousand American dollars. 



IV HERODOTUS. 

Such is the account which Eusebius gives, and others to whom 
we may fairly accord belief; and it adds no slight tinge of romance 
to the picture to discover among the listening throng the figure of 
the boy Thucydides, moved to tears by the recital, who then and 
there received the impulse that made of him also a great student 
and writer of history. Herodotus, noticing how intensely his 
reading had affected the youth, turned to Olorus, the father of 
Thucydides, who was standing near, and said : " Olorus, thy son's 
soul yearns after knowledge." 

Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus, 484 B.C., and died 
at Thurium in Italy, about the year 426. As in the case ot 
Plutarch, our knowledge of his personal history is very meagre, 
aside from the little we glean from his own writings. His parents, 
Lyxes and Rhoeo, appear to have been of high rank and consider- 
ation in Halicarnassus, and possessed of ample means ; and his 
acquaintance both at home and in Athens was of the best. . A 
lover of poetry and a poet by nature, the whole plan of his work, 
the tone and character of his thoughts, and a multitude of words 
and expressions, show him to have been perfectly familiar with the 
Homeric writings. There is scarcely an author previous to his time 
with whose works he does not appear to have been thoroughly 
acquainted. Hecataeus, to be sure, was almost the only writer of 
prose who had attained any distinction, for prose composition was 
practically in its infancy ; but from him and from several others, too 
obscure even to be named, he freely quotes, while the poets, 
Hesiod, Olen, Musaeus, Archilochus, the authors of the " Cypria " and 
the "Epigoni," Alcaeus, Sappho, Solon, y^isop, Aristeas, Simonides 
of Ceos, Phrynichus, y^schylus, and Pindar, are referred to, or 
quoted, in such a way as to show an intimate acquaintance with 
their works. 

The desio^n of Herodotus was to record the struorcrles between 
the Greeks and barbarians, but, in carrying it out, as Wheeler, the 
English analyst of the writings of Herodotus, has happily expressed 
it, he is perpetually led to trace the causes of the great events of 
his history ; to recount the origin of that mighty contest between 



IN TR on UC TION. V 

liberty and despotism which marked the whole period ; to describe 
the wondrous manners and mysterious religions of nations, and the 
marvellous geography and fabulous productions of the various 
countries, as each appeared on the great arena ; to tell to an in- 
quisitive and credulous people of cities vast as provinces and 
splendid as empires ; of stupendous walls, temples and pyramids ; 
of dreams, omens, and warnings from the dead ; of obscure tra- 
ditions and their exact accomplishment ; — and thus to prepare 
their minds for the most wonderful story in the annals of men, 
when all Asia united in one endless array to crush the states of 
Greece ; when armies bridged the seas and navies sailed through 
mountains ; when proud, stubborn-hearted men arose amid anxiety, 
terror, confusion, and despair, and staked their lives and homes 
against the overwhelming power of a foreign despot, till Heaven 
itself sympathized with their struggles, and the winds and waves 
delivered their country, and opened the way to victory and re- 
venge. 

The personal character of Herodotus, reflected from every page 
that he wrote, renders his vivid story all the more happily suited 
to the reading and study of boys and girls. He is as honest as 
the sun ; equally impartial to friends and foes ; candid in the state- 
ment of both sides of a question ; and an artist withal in the gift 
of delineating a character or a people with a few rapid strokes, so 
bold and masterly that the sketch is placed before you with stereo- 
scopic distinctness. For so early a writer he presents a surprising 
unity of plan, combined with a variety of detail that is amazing. 
What if he does crowd and enrich his story with a world of anec- 
dote ? What if he feels bound always to paint for you the customs, 
manners, dress, and peculiarities of a people before he begins their 
history } This very biographical style is the charm of his pen. 
Like the flowers of the magnolia-tree, his bright stories and vivid 
descriptions at times almost overwhelm the root and branch of his 
narrative ; yet, after all, we remember the magnolia more because 
of its cloud of snowy bloom in the few fleeting days of May than 
for all its orrcen and shade in the other months. 



vi HERODOTUS. 

Herodotus, to be sure, lacks that far-seeing faculty of discern- 
ing accurately the real causes of great movements, wars, and mi- 
grations of men — a faculty possessed pre-eminently by Thucydides 
and largely by Xenophon, but he is equally far removed from the 
coldness of the one and the ostentatious display of the other. He 
is above all things natural, simple, and direct. " He writes," says 
Aristotle, " sentences which have a continuous flow, and which end 
only when the sense is complete." 

I have allowed Herodotus, as I did Plutarch, to tell you his 
story in his own words, as closely as the English idiom can repro- 
duce the spirit and flow of the Greek, calling gratefully to my aid 
the labors of such students, analysts, and translators of Herodotus 
as Rawlinson, Dahlmann, Gary, and Wheeler; and I have dis- 
carded from the text only what is indelicate to the modern ear, or 
what the young reader might find tedious, redundant, or irrelevant 
to the main story. But so small a part comes under this head, 
that I am sure I can fairly say to you : " This is Herodotus him- 
self." If you read him through and do not like him, who will be 
the disappointed one ? Not you, but I ! 

New York, Jime i5, 1884. 



CONTENTS. 



I. 
II. 



CHAPTER. BOOK I.— CLIO. 

I. Origin of the War between the Greeks and Barbarians 

II. History of Lydia 

III. Origin of Athens and Sparta . 

IV. Conquest of Lydia by Cyrus . 
V. History of the Medes to the Reign of Cyrus 

VI. The Asiatic Greeks and the Lydian Revolt 

VII. The Conquest of Assyria and the War with the Massagetse 

BOOK II.— EUTERPE. 

I. Physical History of Egypt 

II. Religion, Manners, Customs, Dress, and Animals of the Egyptians 

III. God- Kings Prior to Menes 

IV. First Line of 330 Kings, only Three Mentioned 

V. From Sesostris to Sethon ....... 

VI. Third Line • from the Twelve Kings to Amasis 

BOOK III — THALIA. 

I. Expeditions of Cambyses 

II. Usurpation of Smerdis the Magus and Accession of Darius 

III. Indians, Arabians, and Ethiopians ...... 

IV. Reign of Darius to the Taking of Babylon .... 

BOOK IV.— MELPOMENE. 
I. Description of Scythia and the Neighboring Nations 

II. Invasion of Scythia by Darius 

III. Description of Libya ........ 



BOOK v.— TERPSICHORE. 



Conquests of the Generals of Darius 
The Ionian Revolt .... 



BOOK VI.— ERATO. 

I. The Suppression of the Ionian Revolt 

II. Expedition of Mardonius • 

III. Expedition of Datis and Artaphernes ; The Battle of Marathon 



I 
4 

17 
25 
35 
54 
65 



91 
107 
108 

I ID 
127 



157 
169 

174 



IS8 
203 



219 
229 

236 
246 
252 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER. BOOK VII.—POLYMNIA. 

I. Death of Darius and Reign of Xerxes . . . . . .261 

II. Battle of Thermopylae ......... 280 

BOOK VIII— URANIA. 
I. The Invasion of Attica and the Battle of Salamis .... 292 
II. Xerxes' Retreat .......... 302 

BOOK IX.— CALLIOPE. 

I. The War Continued ; Battle of Plataea and Siege of Thebes . . 307 

II. The Battle of Mycale 321 

Synchronistical Table of the Principal Events in Herodotus . . . 326 
Herodotean Weights and Money, Dry and Liquid Measures, and Measure- 
ments of Lengths .......... 328 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Pyramids and Sphinx 

Offering at the Temple of Delphi 

Athens from Mount Hymettus . 

Assyrian Warriors in a Chariot . 

Sphynx from S. W. Palace (Nimroud) 

Egyptian Hare .... 

Winged Human-Headed Lion . 

Sepulchral Vases 

Map of ^gyptus 

The Two Great Pyramids at the Time of the Inundation 

Nile Boat ..... 

The Trochilus .... 

Spearing the Crocodile 

Head of Rameses H. 

Bust of Thothmes I. . 

Paris Carrying Away Helen 

Bcs and Hi .... 

The Great Pyramid, without the Surface Stone 

Section of the Great Pyramid 

Section of Gallery in Pyramid 

Hall of Columns in the Great Temple of Karnak 

Egyptian Bell Capitals 

Harpoon and Fish-Hooks . 

Egyptian Helmets 

The Great Sphinx 

Egyptian Pottery 

Sand Storm in the Desert 

A.ttack on Fort .... 

The Obelisk .... 

Mameluke Tomb, Cairo 

Egyptian War Chariot, Warrior, and Horse 

Military Drum .... 

Alphabet 

Infantry Drilled by Sergeant 
Light-Armed Troops Marching 
Olive Trees .... 



ILL USTRA TIONS. 



Head-Dress of a Riding Horse 

Amphitheatre at Pola 

Ruins of an Ancient Temple in Corinth 

Tripolitza .... 

The Tomb of Jonah, Konyunjik 

Bridge over the Gortynius 

Cyclopean Walls at Cephalloma 

Island and Castle of Corfu 

Bridge at Corfu 

Plains of Argos. 

Ancient Greek Walls Restored 

Celes Ridden by a Cupid . 

Boeotia .... 

Coat of Mail 

The Fisherman . 

Juno . . . 

Elegant Vases and Amphorae 

Bas-Relief of the Muses 



and the Ruins 



Opposite 



Mosu 



241 
249 
267 

273 
277 
281 
283 
287 
289 
293 
303 
309 
311 

315 
317 
325 



HERODOTUS, 



BOOK I. CLIO. 



CHAPTER I. 

ORIGIN OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE GREEKS AND BARBARIANS. 

This is a publication of the researches of Herodotus of Halicar- 
nassus, made in order that the actions of men may not be effaced 
by time, and that the great and wondrous deeds displayed both by 
Greeks and barbarians ^ may not be deprived of renown ; and, 
furthermore, that the cause for which they waged war upon each 
other may be known. 

The learned amono- the Persians assert that the Phoenicians 
were the original authors of the quarrel ; that they migrated from 
that which is called the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and, having 
settled in the country which they now inhabit, forthwith applied 
themselves to distant voyages ; and that they exported Egyptian 
and Assyrian merchandise, touching at other places, and also at 
Argos. Argos, at that period, surpassed in every respect all those 
states which are now comprehended under the general appellation 
of Greece. They say, that on their arrival at Argos, the Phoeni- 
cians exposed their merchandise for sale, and that on the fifth or sixth 
day after their arrival, when they had almost disposed of their cargo, 
a great number of women came down to the sea-shore, and among 
them lo the daughter of the king Inachus. While these women 

' Under the name " barbarians " the Greeks included all who were not sprung from them- 
selves — all who did not speak the Greek lanj^uage. 

r 



2 HERODOTUS. 

were standing near the stern of the vessel, and were bargaining- 
for such things as most pleased them, the Phoenicians made an 
attack upon them. Most of the women escaped, but lo with some 
others was seized. Then the traders hurried on board and set 
sail for Egypt. Thus the Persians say that lo went to Egypt, and 
that this was the beginning of wrongs. After this certain Greeks 
(for they are unable to tell their name), having touched at 
Tyre in Phoenicia, carried off the king's daughter Europa. These 
must have been Cretans. Thus far they say that they had only 
returned hke for like, but that after this the Greeks were guilty of 
the second provocation ; for having sailed down in a vessel of war 
to ^a, a city of Colchis on the river Phasis, when they had accom- 
plished the more immediate object of their expedition, they carried 
off the king's daughter Medea; and the king of Colchis, having 
despatched a herald to Greece, demanded satisfaction and the 
restitution of the princess ; but the Greeks replied, that as they of 
Asia had not given satisfaction for the stealing of lo, they would 
not give any to them. In the second generation after this, Alex- 
ander, the son of Priam, having heard of these events, was desirous 
of obtaining a wife from Greece by means of violence, being fully 
persuaded that he should not have to give satisfaction, since the 
Greeks had not done so. When, therefore, he had carried off 
Helen, the Greeks immediately sent messengers to demand her 
back again and require satisfaction ; but when they brought for- 
ward these demands they were met with this reply : " You who 
have not yourselves given satisfaction, nor made it when demanded,, 
now wish others to give it to you." After this the Greeks were 
greatly to blame, for they levied war against Asia before the 
Asiatics did upon Europe. Now, to carry off women by violence 
the Persians think is the act of wicked men ; to trouble one's self 
about avenging them when so carried off is the act of foolish ones ; 
and to pay no regard to them when carried off, of wise men : for 
it is clear, that if they had not been willing, they could not have 
been carried off. Accordingly the Persians say, that they of Asia 
made no account of women that were carried off; but that the 



WAJ? BETWEEN GREEKS AND BARBARIANS. 3 

Greeks for the sake of a Lacedsemonian woman assembled a 
mighty fleet, sailed to Asia, and overthrew the empire of Priam. 
From this event they had always considered the Greeks as their 
enemies : for the Persians claim Asia, and the barbarous nations 
that inhabit it, as their own, and consider Europe and the people 
of Greece as totally distinct. 

Such is the Persian account ; and to the capture of Troy they 
ascribe the commencement of their enmity to the Greeks. As re- 
lates to lo, the Phoenicians do not agree with this account of the 
Persians but affirm that she voluntarily sailed away with the 
traders. I, however, am not going to inquire further as to facts ; 
but having pointed out the person whom I myself know to have 
been the first guilty of injustice toward the Greeks, I will then pro- 
ceed with my history, touching as well on the small as the great 
estates of men : for of those that were formerly powerful many 
have become weak, and some that were formerly weak became 
powerful in my time. Knowing, therefore, the precarious nature of 
human prosperity, I shall commemorate both alike. 

Croesus was a Lydian by birth, son of Alyattes, and sovereign 
of the nations on this side the river Halys. This river flowing from 
the south between the Syrians ^ and Paphlagonians, empties itself 
northward into the Euxine Sea. This Croesus was the first of the 
barbarians whom we know of that subjected some of the Greeks 
to the payment of tribute, and formed alliances with others. He 
subdued the lonians and Cohans, and those of the Dorians who 
had settled in Asia, and formed an alliance with the Lacedaemo- 
nians ; but before his reign all the Greeks were free. 

' Syria was at that time the name of Cappadocia, as Herodotus himself elsewhere states. 



CHAPTER II. 



HISTORY OF LYDIA. 



The government, which formerly belonged to the Heraclidse, 
passed to the family of Croesus, who were called Mermnadae. 
Candaules, whom the Greeks call Myrsilus, was tyrant of Sardis, 
and a descendant of Alcaeus, son of Hercules. For Agron, son of 
Ninus, grandson of Belus, great-grandson of Alcseus, was the first 
of the Heraclidae who became king of Sardis ; and Candaules, son 
of Myrsus, was the last. They who ruled over this country before 
Agron, were descendants of Lydus, son of Atys, from whom this 
whole people, anciently called Mseonians, derived the name of 
Lydians. The Heraclidae, descended from a female slave of Jardanus 
and Hercules, having been intrusted with the government by these 
princes, retained the supreme power in obedience to the declara- 
tion of an oracle : they reigned for twenty-two generations, a space 
of five hundred and five years, the son succeeding to the father to 
the time of Candaules, son of Myrsus. Candaules was mur- 
dered by his favorite, Gyges, who thus obtained the king- 
dom, and was confirmed in it by the oracle at Delphi. For 
when the Lydians resented the murder of Candaules, and were 
up in arms, the partisans of Gyges and the other Lydians came to 
the following agreement, that if the oracle should pronounce him 
king of the Lydians, he should reign ; if not, he should restore the 
power to the Heraclidae. The oracle answered that Gyges should 
become king. But the Pythian added this, " that the Heraclidae 
should be avenged on the fifth descendant of Gyges." Of this pre- 
diction neither the Lydians nor their kings took any notice until it 
was actually accomplished. 

Thus the Mermnadae deprived the Heraclidae of the supreme 



HISTOR Y OF L YDIA. 5 

power. Gyges sent many offerings to Delphi ; indeed most of the 
silver offerings at Delphi are his ; and besides the silver, he gave 
a vast quantity of gold ; among the rest six bowls of gold, which 
now stand in the treasury of the Corinthians, and are thirty 
talents in weight ; though, to tell the truth, this treasury does not 
belong to the people of Corinth, but Cypselus son of Eetion. 
Gyges was the first of the barbarians of whom we know who made 
offerings at Delphi, except Midas, son of Gordius, the king of 
Phrygia, who dedicated the royal throne, on which he used to sit 
and administer justice, a piece of workmanship deserving of ad- 
miration. The throne stands in the same place as the bowls of 
Gyges. 

Periander the son of Cypselus was king of Corinth, and the 
Corinthians say (and the Lesbians confirm their account) that a 
wonderful prodigy occurred in his life-time. Arion of Methymna, 
second to none of his time in accompanying the harp, and the first 
who composed, named, and represented the dithyrambus at 
Corinth, was carried to Taenarus on the back of a dolphin. 
Arion, having continued a long time with Periander, made a voy- 
age to Italy and Sicily, acquired great wealth there, and deter- 
mined to return to Corinth. He set out from Tarentum, and hired 
a ship of some Corinthians, because he put more confidence in 
them than in any other nation ; but these men, when they were in 
the open sea, conspired together to throw him overboard and seize 
his money. Learning of this he offered them his money, and 
entreated them to spare his life. But he could not prevail on 
them ; the sailors ordered him either to kill himself, that he might 
be buried ashore, or to leap immediately into the sea. Arion, 
reduced to this strait, entreated them, since such was their determi- 
nation, to permit him to stand on the stern of the vessel in his full 
dress and sing, and he promised when he had sung to make way 
with himself. The seamen, pleased that they should hear the 
best singer in the world, retired from the stern to the middle of 
the vessel. Arion put on all his robes, took his harp in his hands, 
stood on the rowing benches and went through the Orthian strain ; 



O HERODOTUS. 

the strain ended, he leaped into the sea as he was, in full dress ; 
the sailors continuing their voyage to Corinth : but a dolphin 
caught him upon his back, and carried him to Teenarus ; so that, 
having landed, he proceeded to Corinth in his full dress, and upon 
his arrival there, related all that happened. Periander gave no 
credit to his relation, put Arion under close confinement, and 
watched anxiously for the arrival of the seamen. When they 
appeared, he summoned them and inquired if they could give any 
account of Arion. They answered that he was safe in Italy, 
and that they had left him flourishing at Tarentum. At that 
instant Arion appeared before them just as he was when he leaped 
into the sea ; at which they were so astonished that, being fully 
convicted, they could no longer deny the fact. These things are 
reported by the Corinthians and Lesbians; and there is a little 
bronze statue of Arion at Tsenarus, representing a man sitting on 
a dolphin. 

Alyattes the Lydian and father of Croesus, having waged a long 
war against the Milesians, died after a reign of fifty-seven years. 
Once upon recovery from an illness he dedicated at Delphi a large 
silver bowl, with a saucer of iron inlaid ; an object that deserves 
attention above all the offerings at Delphi. It was made by 
Glaucus the Chian, who first invented the art of inlaying iron. 

At the death of Alyattes, Croesus, then thirty-five years of age, 
succeeded to the kingdom. He attacked the Ephesians before 
any other Greek people. The Ephesians being besieged by him, 
consecrated their city to Diana, by fastening a rope from the 
temple to the wall. The distance between the old town, which 
was then besieged, and the temple, is seven stadia. Croesus after- 
ward attacked the several cities of the lonians and yEolians in 
succession, alleging different pretences against the various states. 
After he had reduced the Greeks in Asia to the payment of tribute, 
he formed a design to build ships and attack the Islanders. But 
when all things were ready for the building of ships. Bias of Priene 
(or, as others say, Pittacus of Mitylene) arriving at Sardis, put a 
stop to his ship-building by making this reply, when Crcesus 



HISTOR Y OF L YD I A . / 

inquired if he had any news from Greece : " O king, the Islanders 
are enHsting a large body of cavalry, with the intention of makino- 
war upon you and Sardis." Croesus, thinking he had spoken the 
truth, said : "May the gods put such a thought into the Islanders, 
as to attack the sons of the Lydians with horse." The other 
answering said : " Sire, you appear to wish above all thino-s to 
see the Islanders on horseback upon the continent ; and not with- 
out reason. But what can you imagine the Islanders more ear- 
nesdy desire, after having heard of your resolution to build a fleet 
to attack them, than to catch the Lydians at sea, that they may 
revenge on you the cause of those Greeks who dwell on the conti- 
nent, whom you hold in subjection ? " Croesus, much pleased with 
the conclusion, and convinced, (for he appeared to speak to the 
purpose,) put a stop to the ship-building, and made an alliance with 
the lonians that inhabit the islands. 

In course of time, when nearly all the nations that dwell within 
the river Halys, except the Cilicians and Lycians, were subdued, 
and Croesus had added them to the Lydians, all the wise men of 
that time, as each had opportunity, came from Greece to Sardis, 
which had then attained to the highest degree of prosperity ; and 
amongst them Solon, an Athenian, who made laws for the Athen- 
ians at their request, and absented himself for ten years, sailing 
away under pretence of seeing the world, that he might not be 
compelled to abrogate any of the laws he had established : for 
the Athenians could not do it themselves, since they were bound 
by solemn oaths to observe for ten years whatever laws Solon 
should enact for them. On his arrival Solon was hospitably enter- 
tained by Croesus, and on the third or fourth day, by order of the 
king, the attendants conducted him round the treasury, and 
showed him all their grand and costly contents. After he had seen 
and examined every thing sufficiently, Croesus asked him this ques- 
tion : " My Athenian guest, the great fame as well of your wisdom 
as of your travels has reached even to us ; I am therefore desirous 
of asking you who is the most happy man you have seen ? " He 
asked this question because he thought himself the most happy 



HERODOTUS. 



of men. But Solon, speaking the truth freely, without any flattery, 
answered, " Tellus, the Athenian." Croesus, astonished at his an- 
swer, eao-erly asked him : " On what account do you deem Tellus 
the happiest? " He replied : " Tellus, in the first place, lived in a 
well-croverned commonwealth ; had sons who were virtuous and 
crood; and he saw children born to them all, and all surviving. In 
the next place, when he had lived as happily as the condition of hu- 
man affairs will permit, he ended his life in a most glorious man- 
ner. For coming to the assistance of the Athenians in a battle 
with their neighbors of Eleusis, he put the enemy to flight and 
died nobly. The Athenians buried him at the public charge in the 
place where he fell, and honored him gready." 

When Solon had roused the attenUon of Croesus by relating 
many happy circumstances concerning Tellus, Croesus, expecting 
at least to obtain the second place, asked, whom he had seen next 
to him. " Cleobis," said he, " and Biton, natives of Argos, for they 
possessed a sufficient fortune, and had withal such strength of body, 
that they were both alike victorious in the public games ; and 
moreover the following story is related of them : — When the Ar- 
o-ives were celebrating a festival of Juno, it was necessary that their 
mother should be drawn to the temple in a chariot; but the oxen 
did not come from the field in time, the young men therefore put 
themselves beneath the yoke, and drew the car in which their 
mother sat ; and having conveyed it forty-five stades, they reached 
the temple. After they had done this in sight of the assembled 
people, a most happy termination was put to their lives ; and in 
them the Deity clearly showed that it is better for a man to die 
than to live. For the men of Argos, who stood round, commended 
the streno-th of the youths, and the women blessed her as the 
mother of such sons ; but the mother herself, transported with joy 
both on account of the action and its renown, stood before the 
image and prayed that the goddess would grant to Cleobis and 
Biton, her own sons, who had so highly honored her, the greatest 
blessing man could receive. After this prayer, when they had 
sacrificed and partaken of the feast, the youths fell asleep in the 



HISTOR Y OF L YD I A. 9 

temple itself, and never woke more, but met with such a termina- 
tion of life. Upon this the Argives, in commemoration of their 
filial affection, caused their statues to be made and dedicated at 
Delphi." 

Thus Solon adjudged the second place of felicity to these 
youths. Then Crcesus was enraged, and said : " My Athenian 
friend, is my happiness then so slighted by you as worth nothing, 
that you do not think me of so much value as private men ? " He 
answered : " Crcesus, do you inquire of me concerning human af- 
fairs — of me, who know that the divinity is always jealous, and de- 
lights in confusion. For in lapse of time men are constrained to 
see many things they would not willingly see, and to suffer 
many things they would not willingly suffer. Now I put the 
term of man's life at seventy years ; these seventy years then give 
twenty-five thousand two hundred days, without including the in- 
tercalary months of the leap years, and if we add that month 
to every other year, in order that the seasons arriving at the 
proper time may agree, the intercalary months will be thirty-five 
m.ore in the seventy years, and the days of these months will be 
one thousand and fifty. Yet in all this number of twenty-six 
thousand two hundred and fifty days, that compose these seventy 
years, one day produces nothing exactly the same as another. 
Thus, then, O Croesus, man is altogether the sport of fortune. You 
appear to me to be master of immense treasures, and king of many 
nations; but as relates to what you inquire of me, I cannot say, 
till I hear that you have ended your life happily. For the richest 
of men is not more happy than he that has a sufficiency for a day, 
unless good fortune attend him to the grav^e, so that he ends his 
life in happiness. Many men who abound in wealth are unhappy ; 
and many who have only a moderate competency are fortunate. 
He that abounds in wealth, and is yet unhappy, surpasses the other 
only in two things ; but the other surpasses the wealthy and the 
miserable in many things. The former indeed is better able to 
gratify desire and to bear the blow of adversity. But the latter 
surpasses him in this ; he is not indeed equally able to bear mis- 



lO HERODOTUS. 

fortune or satisfy desire, but his good fortune wards off these things 
from him ; and he enjoys the full use of his limbs, he is free from 
disease and misfortune, he is blessed with good children and a fine 
form, and if, in addition to all these things, he shall end his life 
well, he is the man you seek and may justly be called happy; but 
before he die we ought to suspend our judgment, and not pro- 
nounce him happy, but fortunate." 

When Solon had spoken thus to Croesus, Croesus did not con- 
fer any favor on him, but holding him in no account, dismissed him 
as a very ignorant man, because he overlooked present prosperity, 
and bade men look to the end of every thing. 

After the departure of Solon, the indignation of the gods fell 
heavily upon Croesus, probably because he thought himself the 
most happy of all men. A dream soon after visited him while 
sleeping, which pointed out to him the truth of the misfortunes that 
were about to befall him in the person of one of his sons. For 
Croesus had two sons, of whom one was grievously afflicted, for he 
was dumb ; but the other, whose name was Atys, far surpassed all 
the youno- men of his age. Now the dream intimated to Croesus 
that he would lose this Atys by a wound inflicted with the point of 
an iron weapon. When he awoke, and had considered the matter 
with himself, he relieved Atys from the command of the Lydian 
troops, and never after sent him out on that business ; and causing 
all spears, lances, and such other weapons as men use in war, to be 
removed from the men's apartments, he had them laid up in private 
chambers, that none of them being suspended might fall upon his 
son. Wliile Croesus was engaged with the nuptials of his son, a 
man oppressed by misfortune, and whose hands were polluted, a 
Phrygian by birth, and of royal family, arrived at Sardis. This 
man, having come to the palace of Croesus, sought permission to 
obtain purification according to the custom of the country. Croesus 
purified him, performing the usual ceremony, and then inquired : 
" Stranger, who art thou, and from what part of Phrygia hast thou 
come as a suppliant to my hearth ? and what man or woman hast 
thou slain ? " The strans^er answered : " I am the son of Gordius, 



HISTOR Y OF L YDIA. 1 1 

and grandson of Midas, and am called Adrastus. I unwittino-ly 
slew my own brother, and being banished by my father and 
deprived of every thing, I have come hither." Then said Croesus : 
" You were born of parents who are our friends, and you have 
come to friends, among whom, if you will stay, you shall want 
nothing ; and by bearing your misfortune as lighdy as possible you 
will be the greatest gainer." So Adrastus took up his abode in 
the palace of Croesus. 

At this time a boar of enormous size appeared in Mysian 
Olympus, and rushing down from that mountain, ravaged the fields 
of the Mysians. The Mysians, though they often went out against 
him, could not hurt him, but suffered much from him. At last 
deputies from the Mysians came to Croesus and said : " O kino-, 
a boar of enormous size has appeared in our country, and ravages 
our fields : though we have often endeavored to take him, we can- 
not. We therefore earnesdy beg, that you will send with us your 
son and some chosen youths with dogs, that we may drive him 
from the country." But Croesus, remembering the warning of his 
dream, answered : " Make no further mention of my son ; I shall 
not send him with you, because he is lately married, but I will give 
you chosen Lydians, and the whole hunting train, and will order 
them to assist you with their best endeavors in driving the monster 
from your country." The Mysians were content with this, but 
Atys, who had heard of their request, came in, and earnestly pro- 
tested : " Father, you used to permit me to signalize myself in 
the two most noble and becoming exercises of war and hunting ; 
but now you keep me excluded from both, without having observed 
in me either cowardice or want of spirit. How will men look on 
me when I go or return from the forum? What kind of a man 
shall I appear to my fellow-citizens } What to my newly married 
wife ? Either let me then go to this hunt, or convince me that 
it is better lor me to do as you would have me." " My son," said 
Croesus, " I act thus, not because I have seen any cowardice, or 
any thing else unbecoming in you ; but a vision in a dream warned 
me that you would be short-lived, and would die by the point of 



12 HERODOTUS. 

an iron weapon. It was on account of this that I hastened your 
marriacre, and now refuse to send you on this expedition ; taking 
care to preserve you, if by any means I can, as long as I Hve ; for 
you are my only son ; the other, who is deprived of his hearing, 
I consider as lost." The youth answered : " You are not to blame, 
my father, if after such a dream you take so much care of me ; but 
you say the dream signified that I should die by the point of an 
iron weapon. What hand, or what pointed iron weapon has a 
boar, to occasion such fears in you ? Had it said I should lose my 
life by a tusk, you might do as you have, but it said by the point 
of a weapon ; then since we have not to contend against men, let 
me go." " You have outdone me," replied Croesus, " in explain- 
ing the import of the dream, you shall go to the chase." 

Then turning to the Phrygian Adrastus, he exclaimed : " Adras- 
tus, I beg you to be my son's guardian, when he goes to the chase, 
and take care that no skulking villains show themselves in the way to 
do him harm. Besides, you ought to go for your own sake, where you 
may signalize yourself by your exploits ; this was the glory of your 
ancestors, and you are besides in full vigor." Adrastus answered : 
" On no other account, my lord, would I take part in this enter- 
prise ; it is not fitting that one in my unfortunate circumstances 
should join with his prosperous compeers. But since you urge me, 
I ought to oblige you. Rest assured, that your son, whom you bid 
me take care of, shall, as far as his guardian is concerned, return 
to you uninjured." 

Then all went away, well provided with chosen youths and dogs, 
and, having arrived at Mount Olympus, they sought the wild beast, 
found him and encircled him around. Among the rest, the stranger, 
Adrastus, throwing his javelin at the boar, missed him, and struck 
the son of Crcesus ; thus fulfilling the warning of the dream. Upon 
this, some one ran off to tell Croesus what had happened, and hav- 
ing arrived at Sardis, gave him an account of the action, and of 
his son's fate. Croesus, exceedingly distressed by the death of his 
son, lamented it the more bitterly, because he fell by the hand of 
one, whom he himself had purified from blood ; and vehemently 



HIS TOR Y OF L YD I A . 1 3 

deploring his misfortune, he invoked Jove the Expiator, attesting 
what he had suffered by this stranger. He invoked also the same 
deity, by the name of the god of hospitality and private friendship : 
as the god of hospitality, because by receiving a stranger into his 
house, he had unawares fostered the murderer of his son ; as the 
god of private friendship, because, having sent him as a guardian, 
he found him his greatest enemy. Soon the Lydians approached, 
bearing the corpse, and behind it followed the murderer. He, 
having advanced in front of the body, delivered himself up to 
Croesus, stretching out his hands and begging him to kill him upon 
it; for he ought to live no longer. When Croesus heard this, 
though his own affliction was so great, he pitied Adrastus, and 
said to him : " You have made me full satisfaction by condemning 
yourself to die. You are not the author of this misfortune, except 
as far as you were the involuntary agent ; but that god, whoever 
he was, that long since foreshowed what was about to happen." 
Croesus buried his son as the dignity of his birth required ; but the 
son of Gordius, when all was silent around, judging himself the 
most heavily afflicted of all men, killed himself on the tomb. 

Some time after, the overthrow of the kingdom of Astyages, 
son of Cyaxares, by Cyrus, son of Cambyses, and the growing 
power of the Persians, put an end to the grief of Croesus ; and it 
entered into his thoughts whether he could by any means check 
the growing power of the Persians before they became formidable. 
After he had formed this purpose, he determined to make trial as 
well of the oracles in Greece as of that in Lydia; and sent different 
persons to different places, some to Delphi, some to Abae of Phocis, 
and some to Dodona. 

He endeavored to propitiate the god at Delphi by magnificent 
sacrifices ; for he offered three thousand head of cattle of every 
kind fit for sacrifice, and having heaped up a great pile, he burned 
on it beds of gold and silver, vials of gold, and robes of purple and 
garments ; hoping by that means more completely to conciliate 
the god. When the sacrifice was ended, having melted down a 
vast quantity of gold, he cast half-bricks from it ; of which the 



14 



HERODOTUS. 



longest were six palms in length, the shortest three, and in thick- 
ness one palm : their number was one hundred and seventeen : 
four of these, of pure gold, weighed each two talents and a half ; 
the other half-bricks of pale gold, weighed two talents each. He 
made also the figure of a lion of fine gold, weighing ten talents. 
This lion, when the temple of Delphi was burned down, fell from 
the half-bricks, for it had been placed on them ; and it now lies in 
the treasury of the Corinthians, weighing six talents and a half; 




OFFERING AT THE TEMPLE OF DELPHI, 



for three talents and a half were melted from it. Croesus, having 
finished these things sent them to Delphi, and with them these fol- 
lowing : two large bowls, one of gold, the other of silver ; that of 
gold was placed on the right hand as you enter the temple, and 
that of silver on the left ; but these also were removed when the 
temple was burnt down ; and the golden one weighing eight 
talents and a half and twelve minse, is placed in the treasury of 
Clazomence ; the silver one, containing six hundred amphorse, lies 
in a corner of the vestibule, and is used by the Delphians for mix- 
ing the wine on the Theophanian festival. The Delphians say it 



HIS TOR Y OF L YD I A. 1 5 

was the workmanship of Theodorus the Samian ; and I think so 
too, for it appears to be no common work. He also sent four 
casks of silver, which stand in the treasury of the Corinthians ; and 
he dedicated two lustral vases, one of gold, the other of silver : on 
the golden one is an inscription, OF THE LACEDEMONIANS, 
who say that it was their offering, but wrongfully, for it was given 
by Croesus : a certain Delphian made the inscription, in order to 
please the Lacedaemonians ; I know his name, but forbear to 
mention it. The boy, indeed, through whose hand the water flows, 
is their gift ; but neither of the lustral vases. At the same time 
Croesus sent many other offerings without an inscription : amongst 
them some round silver covers ; and a statue of a woman in gold 
three cubits high, which the Delphians say is the image of 
Croesus's bakinof woman ; and to all these things he added the 
necklaces and girdles of his wife. 

These were the offerings he sent to Delphi ; and to Amphiaraus, 
having ascertained his virtue and sufferings, he dedicated a shield 
all of gold, and a lance of solid gold, the shaft as well as the points 
being of gold. These are now at Thebes in the temple of Isme- 
nian Apollo. 

To the Lydians appointed to convey these presents to the 
temples, Croesus gave it in charge to inquire of the oracles, whether 
he should make war on the Persians, and if he should invite any 
other nation as an ally. Accordingly, when the Lydians arrived at 
the places to which they were sent, and had dedicated the offer- 
ings, they consulted the oracles, saying : " Croesus, king of the 
Lydians and of other Nations, esteeming these to be the only 
oracles among men, sends these presents in acknowledgment of 
your discoveries ; and now asks whether he should lead an army 
against the Persians, and whether he should join any auxiliary 
forces with his own ? " Such were their questions ; and the 
opinions of both oracles concurred, foretelling : " That if Croesus 
should make war on the Persians, he would destroy a mighty em- 
pire ;" and they advised him to engage the most powerful of the 
Greeks in his alliance. When Croesus heard the answers that 



1 6 HERODOTUS. 

were brought back, he was beyond measure delighted with the 
oracles ; and fully expecting that he should destroy the kingdom 
of Cyrus, he again sent to Delphi, and having ascertained the 
number of the inhabitants, presented each of them with two staters 
of gold. In return for this, the Delphians gave Croesus and the 
Lydians the right to consult the oracle before any others, and ex- 
emption from tribute, and the first seats in the temple, and the 
privilege of being made citizens of Delphi, to as many as should 
desire it in all future time. Croesus, having made these presents 
to the Delphians, sent a third time to consult the oracle. For 
after he had ascertained the veracity of the oracle, he had frequent 
recourse to it. His demand now was whether he should long en- 
joy the kingdom ? to which the Pythian gave this answer : " When 
a mule shall become king of the Medes, then, tender-footed Lydian, 
flee over pebbly Hermus, nor tarry, nor blush to be a coward." 
With this answer, when reported to him, Croesus was more than 
ever delighted, thinking that a mule should never be king of the 
Medes instead of a man, and consequently that neither he nor his 
posterity should ever be deprived of the kingdom. In the next 
place he began to enquire carefully who were the most powerful 
of the Greeks whom he might gain over as allies ; and on inquiry 
found that the Lacedaemonians and Athenians excelled the rest, 
the former being of Dorian, the latter of Ionic descent : for these 
were in ancient time the most distinguished, the latter beino^ a 
Pelasgian, the other an Hellenic nation. 



CHAPTER III. 

ORIGIN OF ATHENS AND SPARTA. 

What language the Pelasgians used I cannot with certainty 
affirm ; but if I may form a conjecture from those Pelasgians who 
now exist, and inhabit the town of Crestona above the Tyrrhenians, 
and from those Pelasgians settled at Placia and Scylace on the 
Hellespont, they spoke a barbarous language. And if the whole 
Pelasgian body did so, the Attic race, being Pelasgic, must at the 
time they changed into Hellenes have altered their language. The 
Hellenic race, however, appears to have used the same language 
from the time they became a people. At first insignificant, yet 
from a small beginning they have increased to a multitude of 
nations, chiefly by a union with many other barbarous nations. 
But the Pelasgic race, being barbarous, never increased to any 
great extent. 

Of these nations Croesus learnt that the Attic was oppressed 
and distracted by Pisistratus, then reigning in Athens. When a 
quarrel happened between those who dwelt on the sea-coast and 
the Athenians, the formed header by Megacles, the latter by 
Lycurgus, Pisistratus aiming at the sovereign power, formed a 
third party ; and having assembled his partisans under color of 
protecting those of the mountains, he contrived this stratagem. 
He wounded himself and his mules, drove his chariot into the 
public square, as if he had escaped from enemies that designed to 
murder him in his way to the country, and besought the people 
to grant him a guard, having before acquired renown in the expe- 
dition against Megara, by taking its port, Nisaea, and displaying 
other illustrious deeds. The people of Athens, deceived by this, 
gave him such of the citizens as he selected, who were not to be 

17 



1 8 HERODOTUS. 

his javelin men, but club-bearers, for they attended him with clubs 
of wood. These men, joining in revolt with Pisistratus seized the 
Acropolis, and Pisistratus assumed the government of the Atheni- 
ans, neither disturbing the existing magistracies, nor altering the 
laws ; but he administered the government according to the estab- 
lished institutions, liberally and well. Not long after, the partisans 
of Meo-acles and Lycurgus became reconciled and drove him out. 
In this manner Pisistratus first made himself master of Athens, 
and, his power not being firmly rooted, lost it. But those who 
expelled Pisistratus quarrelled anew with one another; and 
Meo-acles, harassed by the sedition, sent a herald to Pisistratus to 
ask if he was willing to marry his daughter, on condition of having 
the sovereignty. Pisistratus having accepted the proposal and 
ao-reed to his terms, in order to his restitution, they contrive the 
most ridiculous project that, I think, was ever imagined; especially 
if we consider, that the Greeks have from old been distinguished 
from the barbarians as being more acute and free from all foolish 
simplicity, and more particularly as they played this trick upon the 
Athenians, who are esteemed among the wisest of the Greeks. In 
the Paeanean tribe was a woman named Phya, four cubits high, 
wanting three fingers, and in other respects handsome ; this woman 
they dressed in a complete suit of armor, placed her on a chariot, 
and having shown her beforehand how to assume the most becom- 
ing demeanor, they drove her to the city, with heralds before, who,, 
on their arrival in the city, proclaimed what was ordered in these 
terms : " O Athenians, receive with kind wishes Pisistratus whom 
Minerva herself honoring above all men now conducts back to 
her own citadel." The report was presently spread among the 
people that Minerva was bringing back Pisistratus ; and the people 
in the city believing this woman to be the goddess, both adored a 
human being, and received Pisistratus. 

Pisistratus having recovered the sovereignty in the manner 
above described, married the daughter of Megacles in accordance 
with his agreement, but Pisistratus soon hearing of designs that 
were being formed against him, withdrew entirely out of the 



20 HERODOTUS. 

country, and arrivino' in Eretria, consulted with his sons. The 
opinion of Hippias prevailing, to recover the kingdom, they imme- 
diately began to collect contributions from those cities which felt 
any gratitude to them for benefits received ; and though many 
o-ave large sums, the Thebans surpassed the rest in liberality. At 
lencrth (not to give a detailed account) time passed, and every 
thing was ready for their return, for Argive mercenaries arrived 
from Peloponnesus; and a man of Naxos, named Lygdamis, who 
had come as a volunteer, and brought both men and money, 
showed great zeal in the cause. Setting out from Eretria, they 
they came back in the eleventh year of their exile, and first of all 
possessed themselves of Marathon. While they lay encamped in 
this place, their partisans from the city joined them, and others 
from the various districts, to whom a tyranny was more welcome 
than liberty, crowded to them. The Athenians of the city, on the 
other hand, had shown very little concern all the time Pisistratus 
was collecting money, or even when he took possession of Mara- 
thon. But when they heard that he was marching from Marathon 
against the city, they at length went out to resist him ;' and 
marched with their whole force against the invaders. In the mean 
time Pisistratus's party, advanced towards the city, and arrived in 
a body at the temple of the Pallenian Minerva, and there took up 
their position. Here Amphilytus, a prophet of Acarnania, moved 
by divine impulse, approached Pisistratus, and pronounced this 
oracle in hexameter verse : 

" The cast is thrown — the net expanded wide— 
At night the tunnies in the snare will glide." 

He, inspired by the god, uttered this prophecy ; and Pisis- 
tratus, comprehending the oracle, and saying he accepted the 
omen, led on his army. The Athenians of the city were then 
engaged at their breakfast, and some of them after breakfast had 
betaken themselves to dice, others to sleep ; so that the army of 
Pisistratus, falling upon them by surprise, soon put them to flight. 
As they were flying, Pisistratus contrived a clever stratagem to 
prevent their rallying again, and forced them thoroughly to disperse. 



ORIGIN OF ATHENS AND SPARTA. 21 

He mounted his sons on horseback and sent them forward. They, 
overtaking the fugitives, spoke as they were ordered by Pisis- 
tratus, bidding them be of good cheer, and to depart every man to 
his own home. The Athenians yielded a ready obedience, and 
thus Pisistratus, having a third time possessed himself of Athens, 
secured his power, more firmly, both by the aid of auxiliary forces, 
and by revenues partly collected at home and partly drawn from 
the mines along the river Strymon. He seized as hostages the 
sons of the Athenians who had held out against him, and had not 
immediately fled, and settled them at Naxos. He moreover puri- 
fied the island of Delos, in obedience to an oracle, and having dug 
up the dead bodies, as far as the prospect from the temple reached, 
he removed them to another part of Delos. 

Croesus was informed that such was, at that time, the condition 
of the Athenians; and that the Lacedaemonians, having extricated 
themselves out of great difficulties, had gained the mastery over 
the Tegeans in war. They had formerly been governed by the 
worst laws of all the people in Greece, both as regarded their 
dealings with one another, and in holding no intercourse with 
strangers. But they changed to a good government in the fol- 
lowing manner : Lycurgus, a man much esteemed by the Spar- 
tans, having arrived at Delphi to consult the oracle, no sooner 
entered the temple, than the Pythian spoke as follows : 

" Lycurgus, thou art come to my rich fane, 
Beloved by Zeus and all the heavenly train, 
But whether god or man I fear to say. 
Yet god thou must be more than mortal clay." 

Some men say that, besides this, the Pythian also communicated 
to him that form of government now established among the Spar- 
tans. But, as the Lacedaemonians themselves affirm, Lycurgus 
being appointed guardian to his nephew Leobotis,' king of 
Sparta, brought those institutions from Crete. For as soon as he 
had taken the guardianship, he altered all their customs, and took 

' It is generally agreed that the name of Lycurgus's nephew was not Leobotas, but 
Charilaus. See the life of Lycurgus in the " Boys' and Girls' Plutarch." 



22 HERODOTUS. 

care that no one should transgress them. Afterwards he estab- 
Hshed miHtary regulations, and instituted the ephori and senators. 
Thus, having changed their laws, they established good institu- 
tions in their stead. They erected a temple to Lycurgus after his 
death, and held him in the highest reverence. As they had a 
good soil and abundant population, they quickly sprang up and 
flourished. And now they were no longer content to live in 
peace ; but proudly considering themselves superior to the Arcad- 
ians, they sent to consult the oracle at Delphi, touching the con- 
quest of the whole country of the Arcadians ; and the Pythian 
gave them this answer: "Dost thou ask of me Arcadia? thou 
askest a great deal ; I cannot grant it thee. There are many 
acorn-eating men in Arcadia, who will hinder thee. But I do not 
grudge thee all ; I will give thee Tegea to dance on with beating 
of the feet, and a fair plain to measure out by the rod." When 
the Lacedaemonians heard this answer reported, they laid aside 
their design against all Arcadia ; and relying on an equivocal 
oracle, led an army against Tegea only, carrying fetters with them, 
as if they would surely reduce the Tegeans to slavery. But being 
defeated in an engagement, as many of them as were taken alive, 
were compelled to work, wearing the fetters they had brought, and 
measuring the lands of the Tegeans with a rod. Those fetters in 
which they were bound, were, even in my time, preserved in 
Tegea, suspended around the temple of Alean Minerva. 

In the first war, therefore, they had constantly fought against 
the Tegeans with ill success, but in the time of Croesus, and during 
the reign of Anaxandrides and Ariston at Lacedaemon, they at 
length became superior in the following manner : When they had 
always been worsted in battle by the Tegeans, they sent to en- 
quire of the oracle at Delphi, what god they should propitiate, in 
order to become victorious over the Tegeans. The Pythian 
answered, they should become so, when they had brought back the 
bones of Orestes the son of Agamemnon. But as they were un- 
able to find the sepulchre of Orestes, they sent again to inquire 
of the god in what spot Orestes lay interred, and the Pythian gave 
this answer to the inquiries of those who came to consult her : 



ORIGIN OF ATHENS AND SPARTA. 23 

" Down in Arcadia's level plain I know, 
Tegea lies : — and where woe lies on woe — 
Where two bound winds impatient of the yoke, 
Are forced to blow — where stroke replies to stroke : 
Beneath the earth lies Agamemnon's son. 
Bear him to Sparta and Tegea 's won." 

When the Lacedsemonians heard this, they were as far off the dis- 
covery as ever, though they searched every where, till Lichas, one 
of the Spartans who are called Agathoergi, found it. These Aga- 
thoergi consist of citizens who are discharged from serving in the 
cavalry, such as are senior, five in every year. It is their duty 
during the year in which they are discharged from the cavalry, 
not to remain inactive, but go to different places where they are 
sent by the Spartan commonwealth. Lichas, who was one of these 
persons, discovered it in Tegea, both meeting with good fortune 
and employing sagacity. For as the Lacedaemonians had at that 
time intercourse with the Tegeans, he, coming to a smithy, looked 
attentively at the iron being forged, and was struck with wonder 
when he saw what was done. The smith perceiving his astonish- 
ment desisted from his work, and said : " O Laconian stranger, you 
would certainly have been astonished had you seen what I saw, 
since you are so surprised at the working of iron. For as I was 
endeavoring to sink a well in this enclosure, in digging, I came to 
a coffin seven cubits long ; and because I did not believe that men 
were ever taller than they now are, I opened it and saw that the 
body was equal to the coffin in length, and after I had measured 
it I covered it up again. The man told him what he had seen, and 
Lichas, reflecting on what was said, conjectured from the words of 
the oracle, that this must be the body of Orestes, forming his con- 
jecture on the following reasons : seeing the smith's two bellows 
he discerned in them the two winds, and in the anvil and ham- 
mer the stroke answering to stroke, and in the iron that was being 
forged the woe that lay on woe ; representing it in this way, that 
iron had been invented to the injury of man. He then returned 
to Sparta, and gave the Lacedaemonians an account of the whole 
matter ; but they brought a feigned charge against him and sent 



24 HERODOTUS. 

him into banishment. He, going back to Tegea, related his mis- 
fortune to the smith, and wished to hire the enclosure from him, 
but he would not let it. But in time, when he had persuaded him, 
he took up his abode there ; and having opened the sepulchre and 
collected the bones, he carried them away with him to Sparta. 
From that time, whenever they made trial of each other's strength, 
the Lacedaemonians were by far superior in war ; and the greater 
part of Peloponnesus had been already subdued by them. 



CHAPTER IV. 



CONQUEST OF LYDIA BY CYRUS. 



Crcesus being Informed of all these things, sent ambassadors to 
Sparta, with presents, and to request their alliance, having given 
them orders what to say ; and when they were arrived they spoke 
as follows : " Croesus, king of the Lydians and of other nations, has 
sent us with this message : ' O Lacedaemonians, since the deity 
has directed me by an oracle to unite myself to a Grecian friend, 
therefore (for I am informed that you are pre-eminent in Greece), 
I invite you in obedience to the oracle, being desirous of becom- 
ing your friend and ally, without treachery or guile.' " But the 
Lacedaemonians, who had before heard of the answer given by the 
oracle to Crcesus, were gratified at the coming of the Lydians, and 
exchanged pledges of friendship and alliance ; and indeed certain 
favors had been formerly conferred on them by Croesus ; for when 
the Lacedaemonians sent to Sardis to purchase gold, wishing to 
use it in erecting the statue of Apollo that now stands at Thornax 
in Laconia, Croesus gave it as a present to them. For this reason, 
and because he had selected them from all the Greeks, and desired 
their friendship, the Lacedaemonians accepted his offer of alliance ; 
and in the first place they promised to be ready at his summons ; 
and in the next, having made a great bronze bowl, capable of con- 
taining three hundred amphorae, and covered it outside to the rim 
with various figures, they sent it to him, being desirous of making 
Croesus a present in return. But this bowl never reached Sardis, 
for one of the two following reasons : the Lacedaemonians say, that 
when the bowl, on its way to Sardis, was off Samos, the Samains 
having heard of it, sailed out in long ships, and took it away by 
force. On the other hand the Samains affirm, that when the Lace- 

25 



26 HERODOTUS. 

daemonians who were conveying the bowl found they were too 
late, and heard that Sardis was taken and Croesus a prisoner, they 
sold the bowl in Samos, and that some private persons, who bought 
it dedicated it in the temple of Juno. 

Croesus, mistaking the oracle, prepared to invade Cappadocia, 
hoping to overthrow Cyrus and the power of the Persians. Whilst 
Croesus was preparing for his expedition against the Persians, a 
Lydian named Sandanis, who before that time was esteemed a 
wise man, and on this occasion acquired a very great name in 
Lydia, gave him advice in these words : " O king, you are prepar- 
incr to make war against a people who wear leather trousers, 
and the rest of their garments of leather ; who inhabit a barren 
country, and feed not on such things as they choose, but such as 
they can get. Besides they do not habitually use wine, but drink 
water ; nor have they figs to eat, nor any thing that is good. In 
the first place, then, if you should conquer, what will you take 
from them, since they have nothing ? On the other hand, if you 
should be conquered, consider what good things you will lose. 
For when they have tasted of our good things, they will become 
fond of them, nor will they be driven from them. As for me, I 
thank the gods, that they have not put it into the thoughts of the 
Persians to make war on the Lydians." Sandanis did not, how- 
ever, persuade Croesus, for he proceeded to invade Cappadocia, as 
well from a desire of adding it to his own dominions, as a wish to 
punish Cyrus on account of Astyages. For Cyrus, son of Cam- 
byses, had subjugated Astyages, son of Cyaxares, who was brother- 
in law of Croesus, and king of Medes. 

Croesus, alleging this against him, sent to ask the oracle, if he 
should make war on the Persians ; and when an ambiguous an- 
swer came back, he, interpreting it to his own advantage, led his 
army against the territory of the Persians. When he arrived at 
the river Halys, Croesus transported his forces, as I believe, by the 
bridcres which are now there. But the common opinion of the 
Greeks is, that Thales the Milesian procured him a passage in the 
following way : Whilst Croesus was in doubt how his army should 



CONQ UEST OF L YD J A BY CYR US. 2 7 

pass over the river, for they say that these bridges were not at that 
time in existence, Thales, who was in the camp, caused the stream, 
which flowed along the left of the army, to flow on the right in- 
stead. He contrived it thus : having begun above the camp, he 
dug a deep trench, in the shape of a half-moon, so that the river, 
being turned into this from its old channel, might pass in the rear 
of the camp pitched where it then was, and afterward, having 
passed by the camp, might fall into its former course ; so that as 
soon as the river was divided into two streams it became fordable 
in both. Some say, that the ancient channel of the river was en- 
tirely dried up ; but this I cannot assent to ; for how then could 
they have crossed it on their return ? 

However, Croesus, having passed the river with his army, came 
to a place called Pteria, in Cappadocia. (Now Pteria is the 
strongest position of the whole of this country, and is situated over 
against Sinope, a city on the Euxine Sea.) Here he encamped 
and ravaged the lands of the Syrians ; and took the city of the 
Pterians, and enslaved the inhabitants ; he also took all the ad- 
jacent places, and expelled the inhabitants, who had given him no 
■cause for blame. But Cyrus, assembling his own army, and taking 
with him all who inhabited the intermediate country, went to meet 
Croesus. But before he began to advance, he sent heralds to the 
lonians, to persuade them to revolt from Croesus, which the lon- 
ians, refused to do. When Cyrus had come up and encamped 
opposite Croesus, they made trial of each other's strength on the 
plains of Pteria ; but when an obstinate battle took place, and many 
fell on both sides, they at last parted, on the approach of night, 
neither havino^ been victorious. 

Croesus laying the blame on his own army on account of the 
smallness of its numbers, for his forces that eng-agfed were far fewer 
than those of Cyrus, — marched back to Sardis, designing to sum- 
mon the Egyptians according to treaty, and to require the presence 
of the Lacedaemonians at a fixed time : having collected these to- 
gether, and assembled his own army, he purposed, when winter 
was over, to attack the Persians in the beginning of the spring. 



2 8 HERODOTUS. 

With this design, when he reached Sardis, he despatched ambas- 
sadors to his different alHes, requiring them to meet at Sardis be- 
fore the end of five months ; but the army that was with him, and 
that had fought with the Persians, which was composed of mer- 
cenary troops, he entirely disbanded, not imagining that Cyrus, 
who had come off on such equal terms, would venture to advance 
upon Sardis. While Croesus was forming these plans the whole 
suburbs were filled with serpents, and when they appeared, the 
horses, forsaking their pastures, came and devoured them. When. 
Croesus beheld this, he considered it to be, as it really was, a 
prodigy, and sent immediately to consult the interpreters at Tel- 
messus ; but the messengers having arrived there, and learnt from 
the Telmessians what the prodigy portended, were unable to re- 
port it to Croesus, for before they sailed back to Sardis, Croesus had 
been taken prisoner. The Telmessians had pronounced as follows : 
" that Croesus must expect a foreign army to invade his country, 
which, on its arrival, would subdue the natives, because, they said, 
the serpent is a son of the earth, but the horse is an enemy and a 
stranger." 

Cyrus, as soon as Croesus had retreated after the battle at Pteria, 
having discovered that it was the intention of Croesus to disband 
his army, saw that it would be to his advantage to march with all 
possible expedition on Sardis, before the forces of the Lydians 
could be a second time assembled. Whereupon Croesus, thrown 
into great perplexity, seeing that matters had turned out contrary 
to his expectations, drew out the Lydians to battle. At that time no 
nation in Asia was more valiant and warlike than the Lydians. 
Their mode of fighting was from on horseback ; they were armed 
with long lances, and managed their horses with admirable 
address. 

The place where they met was the plain that lies before the city 
of Sardis, which is extensive and bare ; the Hyllus and several other 
rivers flowing through it force a passage into the greatest, called 
the Hermus, which, flowing from the sacred mountain of mother 
Cybele, falls into the sea near the city of Phocsea. Here Cyrus, 



CONQ UES T OF L YDIA BY CYRUS. 29 

when he saw the Lydians drawn up in order of battle, alarmed at 
the cavalry, had recourse to the following stratagem, on the sug- 
gestion of Harpagus, a Mede. Collecting together all the camels 
that followed his army with provisions and baggage, and causing 
their burdens to be taken off, he mounted men upon them equipped 
in cavalry accoutrements, and ordered them to go in advance of 
the rest of his army against the Lydian horse ; his infantry he 
bade follow the camels, and placed the whole of his cavalry behind 
the infantry. When all were drawn up in. order, he charged them 
not to spare any of the Lydians, but to kill every one they met ; 
but on no account to kill Croesus, even if he should offer resistance 
when. taken. He drew up the camels in the front of the cavalry 
for this reason : a horse is afraid of a camel, and cannot endure 
either to see its form or to scent its -smell ; this then would render 
the cavalry useless to Croesus, by which the Lydian expected to 
signalize himself. Accordingly, when they joined battle, the horses 
no sooner smelt the camels and saw them, than they wheeled 
round, and the hopes of Croesus were destroyed. Nevertheless, 
the Lydians were not discouraged, but leaped from their horses 
and engaged with the Persians on foot ; but at last, when many 
had fallen on both sides, the Lydians were put to flight, and being 
shut up within the walls, were besieged by the Persians. 

Sardis was taken in the followinor manner. On the fourteenth 
day after Croesus had been besieged, Cyrus sent horsemen through- 
out his army, and proclaimed that he would liberally reward the 
man who should first mount the wall ; upon this several attempts 
were made, and as often failed ; till, after the rest had desisted, a 
Mardian, whose name was Hyroeades, endeavored to climb up on 
that part of the citadel where no guard was stationed, for on that 
side the citadel was precipitous and impracticable. Hyroeades had 
seen a Lydian the day before come down this precipice for a hel- 
met that had rolled down, and carry it up agam. He thereupon 
ascended the same way, followed by divers Persians ; and when 
great numbers had gone up, Sardis was thus taken, and the whole 
town plundered. 



30 HERODOTUS. 

The following incidents befel Croesus himself. He had a son of 
whom I have before made mention, who was dumb. Now, in the 
time of his former prosperity, Croesus had done every thing he 
could for him, and among other expedients had sent to consult the 
oracle of Delphi concerning him ; but the Pythian gave him this 

answer : 

• 

•' O foolish king of Lydia, do not seek 
To hear thy son within thy palace speak ! 
Better for thee that pleasure to forego — 
The day he speaks will be a day of woe." 

When the city was taken, one of the Persians, not knowing 
Croesus, was about to kill him ; Croesus, though he saw him ap- 
proach, took no heed of him, caring not if he should die by the 
blow ; but this speechless son of his, when he saw the Persian 
advancing against him, through dread and anguish, burst into 
speech, and said : " Man, kill not Croesus." These were the first 
words he ever uttered ; but from that time he continued to speak 
during the remainder of his life. So the Persians got possession 
of Sardis, and made Croesus prisoner, after he had reigned four- 
teen years, been besieged fourteen days, and lost his great empire,, 
as the oracle had predicted. The Persians, having taken him, 
conducted him to Cyrus ; and he, having heaped up a great pile,, 
placed Croesus upon it, bound with fetters, and with him fourteen 
young Lydians ; designing either to offer this sacrifice to some 
god, as the first fruits of his victory, or wishing to perform a vow ; 
or perhaps, having heard that Croesus was a religious person, he 
placed him on the pile for the purpose of discovering whether any 
deity would save him from being burned alive. When Croesus 
•• ^u^ _;i^ "ofwithstandino- the weight of his misfortunes, 

spoken by inspiration of 
be justly called happy." 
It after a long silence he 
1, thrice pronounced the 
name ot bolon ; wnen <^yiua n^aiv^ ....... he commanded his inter- 
preters to ask Croesus whom it was he called upon ; Croesus for 



CONQ UES T OF L YD I A BY CYRUS. 3 1 

some time kept silence ; but at last, being constrained to speak, 
said : "I named a man, whose discourses I more desire all tyrants 
might hear, than to be possessor of the greatest riches." When 
he gave them this obscure answer, they again inquired what he 
said, and were very importunate ; he at length told them that 
Solon, an Athenian, formerly visited him, and having viewed all 
his treasures, made no account of them ; telling, in a word, how 
every thing had befallen him as Solon had warned him, though his 
discourse related to all mankind as much as to himself, and espe- 
cially to those who imagine themselves happy. The pile now was 
kindled, and the outer parts began to burn ; when Cyrus, informed 
by the interpreters of what Crcesus had said, relented, considering 
that being but a man, he was yet going to burn another man alive, 
who had been no way inferior to himself in prosperity ; and more- 
over, fearing retribution, and reflecting that nothing human is con- 
stant, commanded the fire to be instantly extinguished, and Croesus, 
with those who were about him, to be taken down. But they with 
all their endeavors were unable to master the fire. Croesus, per- 
ceiving that Cyrus had altered his resolution, when he saw every 
man endeavoring to put out the fire, but unable to get the better 
of it, shouted aloud, invoking Apollo, and besought him, if ever 
any of his offerings had been agreeable to him, to protect and de- 
liver him from the present danger. And the Lydians relate, as he 
with tears invoked the god, on a sudden clouds were seen gather- 
ing in the air, which before was serene, and that a violent storm 
burst forth and vehement rain fell and extinguished the flames ; 
by which Cyrus perceiving that Croesus was beloved by the gods, 
and a good man, when he had had him taken down from the pile, 
asked him the following question : " Who persuaded you, Croesus, 
to invade my territories, and to become my enemy instead of my 
friend ? " He answered : " O king, I have done this for your good 
but my own evil fortune, and the god of the Greeks who encour- 
aged me to make war is the cause of all. For no man is so void 
of understanding as to prefer war before peace ; for in the latter 
children bury their fathers ; in the former, fathers bury their chil- 



32 HERODOTUS. 

dren. But, I suppose, it pleased the gods that these things should 
be so." 

Cyrus, having set him at liberty, placed him by his own side, 
and showed him great respect. But CrcEsus, absorbed in thought 
remained silent ; and presently turning round and beholding the 
Persians sacking the city of the Lydians, he said, " Does it become 
me, O king, to tell you what is passing through my mind, or to 
keep silence ?" Cyrus bade him say with confidence whatever 
he wished; upon which Croesus asked him, "What is this vast 
crowd so earnestly employed about?" He answered, "They are 
sacking your city, and plundering your riches." " Not so," Croesus 
replied, " they are neither sacking my city, nor plundering my 
riches, for they are no longer mine ; they are ravaging what 
belongs to you." The reply of Croesus attracted the attention of 
Cyrus ; he therefore ordered all the rest to withdraw, and asked 
Croesus what he thought should be done in the present conjunc- 
ture. He answered : " Since the gods have made me your ser- 
vant, I think it my duty to acquaint you, if I perceive anything 
deserving of remark. The Persians, who are by nature overbear- 
ing, are poor. If, therefore, you permit them to plunder and 
possess great riches, you may expect the following results ; whoso 
acquires the greatest riches, be assured, will be ready to rebel. 
Therefore, if you approve what I say, adopt the following plan : 
place some of your body-guard as sentinels at every gate, with 
orders to take the booty from all those who would go out, and to 
acquaint them that the tenth must of necessity be consecrated to 
Jupiter : thus you will not incur the odium of taking away their 
property ; and they, acknowledging your intention to be just, 
will readily obey." Cyrus was exceedingly delighted at this sug- 
gestion, and ordered his guards to carry it out, then turning to 
Croesus, he said : " Since you are resolved to display the deeds and 
words of a true king, ask whatever boon you desire on the instant." 
" Sir," he answered, "the most acceptable favor you can bestow 
upon me is, to let me send my fetters to the god of the Greeks, 
whom I have honored more than any other deity, and to ask him, 



CONQ UEST OF L YDIA BY CYRUS. IZ 

if it be his custom to deceive those who deserve well of him." 
Certain Lydians were accordingly sent to Delphi, with orders to 
lay his fetters at the entrance of the temple, and to ask the god, if 
he were not ashamed to have encouraged Croesus by his oracles 
to make war on the Persians assuring him that he would put an 
^end to the power of Cyrus, of which war such were the first-fruits 
(commanding them at these words to show the fetters), and at the 
same time to ask if it were the custom of the Grecian gods to be 
ungrateful. When the Lydians arrived at Delphi, and had deliv- 
ered their message, the Pythian is reported to have made this 
answer : " The god himself even cannot avoid the decrees of 
fate ; and Croesus has atoned for the crime of Gyges his ancestor in 
the fifth generation, who, being one of the body-guard of the 
Heraclidae, murdered his master, Candaules, and usurped his dig- 
nity, to which he had no right. But although Apollo was desirous 
that the fall of Sardis might happen in the time of the sons of 
Croesus, and not during his reign, yet it was not in his power to 
avert the fates ; but so far as they allowed he accomplished, and 
conferred the boon on him ; for he delayed the capture of Sardis 
for the space of three years. Let Croesus know, therefore, that he 
was taken prisoner three years later than the fates had ordained ; 
and in the next place, he came to his relief, when he was upon the 
point of being burnt alive. Then, as to the prediction of the 
oracle, Croesus has no right to complain ; for Apollo foretold him 
that if he made war on the Persians, he would subvert a great 
empire ; and had he desired to be truly informed, he ought to have 
sent again to inquire, whether his own or that of Cyrus was meant. 
But since he neither understood the oracle, nor inquired again, let 
him lay the blame on himself. And when he last consulted the 
oracle, he did not understand the answer concerning the mule ; 
for Cyrus was that mule; inasmuch as he was born of parents of 
different nations, the mother superior, but the father inferior. For 
she was a Mede, and daughter of Astyages, king of Media ; but 
he was a Persian, subject to the Medes. When Croesus heard this 
reply of the priestess of Apollo, he acknowledged the fault to be 
his and not the eod's. 



34 HERODOTUS. 

The customs of the Lydians differ Httle from those of the 
Greeks. They are the first of all nations we know of that intro- 
duced the art of coining gold and silver ; and they were the first 
retailers. The Lydians themselves say that the games which are 
now common to themselves and the Greeks, were invented by 
them during the reign of Atys, when a great scarcity of corn per- 
vaded all Lydia. For when they saw famine staring them in the 
face they sought for remedies, and some devised one thing, some 
another ; and at that time the games of dice, knucklebones, ball, and 
all other kinds of games except draughts, were invented, (for the 
Lydians do not claim the invention of this ancient game,) and hav- 
ing made these inventions to alleviate the famine, they employed 
them as follows : they used to play one whole day that they might 
not be in want of food ; and on the next, they ate and abstained 
from play. Thus they passed eighteen years ; but when the evil 
did not abate, but on the contrary, became still more virulent, their 
king divided the whole people into two parts, and cast lots which 
should remain and which quit the country, and over that part wdiose 
lot it should be to stay he appointed himself king ; and over that 
part which was to emigrate he appointed his own son, whose name 
was Tyrrhenus. Those to whose lot it fell to leave their country 
went down to Smyrna, built ships, and having put all their movables 
which were of use on board, set sail in search of food and land, till 
having passed by many nations, they reached the Ombrici, where 
they built towns, and dwell to this day. From being called Lyd- 
ians, they changed their name to one after the king's son, who led 
them out ; from him they gave themselves the appellation of 
Tyrrhenians. 



CHAPTER V. 

HISTORY OF THE MEDES TO THE REIGN OF CYRUS. 

My history hence proceeds to inquire who Cyrus was that over- 
threw the power of Croesus, and how the Persians became masters 
of Asia. In which narration I shall follow those Persians, who do 
not wish to magnify the actions of Cyrus, but to relate the plain 
truth ; though I am aware that there are three other ways of re- 
lating Cyrus's history. After the Assyrians had ruled over Upper 
Asia five hundred and twenty years, the Medes first began to revolt 
from them ; and they it seems, in their struggle with the Assy- 
rians for liberty, proved themselves brave men ; and having 
shaken off the yoke, became free : afterward the other nations 
also did the same as the Medes. When all throughout the con- 
tinent were independent, they were again reduced under a des- 
potic government. There was among the Medes a man famous for 
wisdom, named Deioces, son of Phraortes. This Deioces, aiming at 
absolute power, had recourse to the following plan. The Medes 
were at that time distributed into villages, and Deioces, who was 
already highly esteemed in his own district, applied himself with 
great zeal to the exercise of justice ; and this he did, since great 
lawlessness prevailed throughout the whole of Media, and he knew 
that injustice and justice are ever at variance. The Medes of the 
same village, observing his conduct, chose him for their judge ; and 
he, constantly keeping the sovereign power in view, showed him- 
self upright and just. By this conduct he acquired no slight praise 
from his fellow citizens, so much so that the inhabitants of other 
villages, hearing that Deioces was the only one who judged up- 
rightly, having before met with unjust sentences, when they heard 
of him gladly came from all parts to Deioces, in order to submit 



36 HERODOTUS. 

their quarrels to his decision ; and at last they would commit the 
decision to no one else. In the end, when the number of those 
who had recourse to him continually increased as men heard of the 
justice of his decisions, Deioces, seeing the whole devolved upon 
himself, would no longer occupy the seat where he used to sit to 
determine differences, and refused to act as judge any more, for it 
was of no advantage to him to neglect his own affairs, and spend 
the day in deciding the quarrels of others. Upon this, rapine and 
lawlessness growing far more frequent throughout the villages than 
before, the Medes called an assembly and consulted together about 
the present state of things, but, as I suspect, the partisans of Deioces 
spoke to the following purpose : " Since it is impossible for us to 
inhabit the country if we continue in our present condition, let us 
constitute a king over us, and so the country will be governed by 
good laws, and we ourselves shall be able to attend to our business, 
nor be any longer driven from our homes by lawlessness." By 
some such words they persuaded them to submit to a kingly gov- 
ernment. Upon their immediately putting the question, whom 
they should appoint king, Deioces was unanimously preferred and 
commended : so that at last they agreed that he should be their 
king. But he required them to build him a palace suitable to the 
dignity of a king, and give him guards for security of his person. 
The Medes accordingly did so : and built him a strong and spacious 
palace in the part of the country that he selected, and permitted 
him to choose guards for his person out of all the Medes. Being 
thus possessed of the power, he compelled the Medes to build one 
city, and having carefully adorned that, to pay less attention to the 
others. As the Medes obeyed him in this also, he built lofty and 
strong walls, which now go under the name of Ecbatana,^ one 
placed in a circle within the other ; and this fortification was so con- 
trived, that each circle was raised above the other by the height of 
the battlements only. The situation of the ground, rising by an 
easy ascent, was very favorable to the design. There were seven 
circles altogether, the king's palace and the treasury, situated within 

' There is a Scriptual account of Ecbatana, in the Apocrypha. Judith i i — 4. 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 37 

the innermost of them. The largest of these walls was about equal 
in circumference to the city of Athens ; the battlements of the first 
circle were white, of the second black, of the third purple, of the 
fourth blue, of the fifth bright red. Thus the battlements of all 
circles were painted with different colors ; but the two last had 
their battlements plated, the one with silver, the other with gold.' 

Deioces then built these fortifications for himself, and round his 
own palace ; and he commanded the rest of the people to fix their 
habitations round the fortification ; and when all the buildings were 
completed he, for the first time, established the following regula- 
tions : that no man should be admitted to the king's presence, but 
every one should consult him by means of messengers, and, more- 
over, that it should be accounted indecency for any one to laugh 
or spit before him. He established such ceremony about his own 
person, in order that those who were brought up with him, and of 
no meaner family, nor inferior to him in manly qualities, might not, 
when they saw him, grieve and conspire against him ; but that he 
might appear to be of a different nature to those who did not see 
him. When he had established these regulations, and settled him- 
self in the tyranny, he was very severe in the distribution of justice. 
And the parties contending were obliged to send him their case 
in writing. All other things were regulated by him : so that, if he 
received information that any man had injured another, he would 
send for him, and punish him in proportion to his offence. For 
this purpose he had spies and eaves-droppers in every part of his 
dominions. 

Now Deioces collected the Medes into one nation, and ruled 
over it. The followinor are the tribes of the Medes, the Bus^, Para- 
taceni, Struchates, Arizanti, Budii, and the Magi. Deioces had a 
son, Phraortes, who, when his father died, after a reign of fifty- 
three years, succeeded him in the kingdom ; but having so suc- 
ceeded, he was not content to rule over the Medes only, but, made 
war on the Persians, and reduced them under the dominion of the 

' ]\Iajor Robinson states that the seven colors described by Herodotus, are those employed by 
the Orientals, to denote the seven planetary bodies. 



38 



HERODOTUS. 



Medes. And afterward being- master of these two nations, both 
of them powerful, he subdued Asia, attacking one nation after 
another ; till at last he invaded the Assyrians, who inhabited the 
city of Nineveh, and having made war on them, perished with the 
greater part of his army, after he had reigned twenty-two 
years. 

When Phraortes was dead, Cyaxares his son, grandson of 
Deioces, succeeded him. He is said to have been more warlike 




ASSYRIAN WARRIORS IN A CHARIOT, 



than his ancestors. He was the first to divide the people of Asia 
into cohorts, and then into spearmen, archers, and cavalry ; where- 
as before they had been confusedly mixed together. It was he 
that fought with the Lydians, when the day was turned into night, 
as they were fighting ; and "who subjected the whole of Asia above 
the river Halys. He assembled the forces of all his subjects, and 
marched against Nineveh to avenge his father, and destroy that 
city. He took Nineveh (how they took it, I will relate in another 



HIS TOR Y OF THE MEDES. 



39 



work),^ and reduced the Assyrians into subjection, with the excep- 
tion of the Babylonian district. Having accomplished these things, 
Cyaxares died, after a reign of forty years. 

Astyages the son of Cyaxares succeeded him in the kingdom. 
He had a daughter, to whom he gave the name of Mandane. 
When she arrived at a marriageable age he gave her to no one of 
the Medes who was worthy of her, but to a Persian, named Cam- 
byses, whom he found descended of a good family, and of a peace- 
ful disposition, deeming him far superior to a Mede of moderate 
rank. In the first year after Mandane was married to Cambyses, 
Astyages saw a vision : it appeared to him that a vine sprang 




SPHINX FROM S. W. PALACE (nIMROUD). 

from his daughter, and spread over all Asia. Having seen this 
and communicated it to the interpreters of dreams, he sent to 
Persia for his daughter, and her son the infant Cyrus, and upon her 
arrival he put her under a guard, resolving to destroy her child, 
for the Magian interpreters had signified to him from his vision, 
that the issue of his daughter would reign in his stead. Astyages 
therefore, sent for Harpagus, a kinsman of his, and the most faith- 
ful of all the Medes, and the manager of all his affairs, and said to 

* Several passages of our author seem to prove that Herodotus wrote other histories than 
those which have come down to us. Elsewhere in this book he speaks of his Assyrian history ; 
and the second of the Libyan. 



40 HERODOTUS. 

him : " Harpagus, on no account fail to perform the business I now 
charge you with ; nor expose me to danger by deceiving me ; nor, 
by preferring another, draw ruin upon thy own head. Take the 
child of Mandane carry him to your own house and kill him, 
and afterward bury him in whatever way you think fit." Harpagus 
answered : " O king, you have never yet observed any ingratitude 
in me, and I shall take care never to offend you for the future. If 
it is your pleasure that this thing should be done, it is fitting that 
I readily obey you." Harpagus, having given this answer, when 
the child had been put into his hands, adorned as if for death, re- 
turned home weeping ; and upon his arrival he told his wife all 
that Astyages had said. She asked him, " What then do you pur- 
pose to do ? " He answered : " Not as Astyages has commanded ; 
though he should be yet more outrageous and mad than he is, I will 
not comply with his wishes, nor will I submit to him by performing 
such a murder : and for many reasons I will not murder the child ; 
both because he is my own relation, and because Astyages is old, 
and has no male offspring ; besides, if, after his death, the sov- 
ereignty should devolve on his daughter, whose son he would now 
murder by my means, what else remains for me but the greatest 
danger ? It is necessary, however, for my safety that the child 
should die, but as necessary that one of Astyages' people should be 
the executioner, and not one of mine." He accordingly sent a 
messenger for one of Astyages' herdsmen, who he knew grazed 
his cattle on pastures most convenient for the purpose, and on 
mountains abounding with wild beasts. His name was Mitradates, 
and he had married his fellow-servant. The foot of the mountains 
at which this herdsman grazed his catde, lies to the north of Ecba- 
tana, toward the Euxine Sea. For the Medic territory on this side 
toward the Saspires, is very mountainous, lofty, and covered with 
forests ; while all the rest of Media is level. When the herdsman, 
summoned in great haste, arrived, Harpagus addressed him as 
follows : " Astyages bids thee take this infant, and' expose him on 
the bleakest part of the mountains, that he may speedily perish ; 
and has charged me to add, that if thou by any means shouldst 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 41 

save the child, thou shalt die by the most cruel death ; and I am 
appointed to see the child exposed." The herdsman, having- 
heard these words, took the infant, returned by the same way, and 
reached his cottage. It so happened that an infant of his own lay 
dead at home. When he returned and came up to his wife she 
asked him why Harpagus had sent for him in such haste. " Wife," 
said he, " when I reached the city, I saw and heard what I wish I 
had never seen, nor had ever befallen our masters. The whole 
house of Harpagus was filled with lamentations ; I, greatly alarmed, 
went in, and as soon as I entered, I saw an infant lying before me, 
panting and crying, dressed in gold and a robe of various colors. 
Harpagus bade me to take up the child directly, and carry him 
away, and expose him in the part of the mountain most frequented 
by wild beasts ; telling me at the same time, that it was Astyages 
who imposed this task on me, and threatening the severest punish- 
ment if I should fail to do it. I took up the infant and carried him 
away, supposing him to belong to one of the servants ; for I had 
then no suspicion whence he came ; though I was astonished at 
seeing him dressed in gold and fine apparel ; and also at the sor- 
row which evidently prevailed in the house of Harpagus. But 
soon after, on my way home, I learnt the whole truth, from a ser- 
vant who accompanied me out of the city, and delivered the child 
into my hands ; that he was born of Mandane, Astyages' daughter, 
and of Cambyses son of Cyrus, and that Astyages had commanded 
him to be put to death." 

As the herdsman uttered these last words, he uncovered the 
child, and showed it to his wife ; she seeing that the child was 
large and of a beautiful form, embraced the knees of her husband, 
and with tears besought him by no means to expose it. He said 
that it was impossible to do otherwise ; for spies would come from 
Harpagus to see the thing done, and he must himself die the most 
cruel death if he should fail to do it. '* Since, then said she I can- 
not persuade you not to expose the child, do this : take our own 
dead child and expose it, and let us bring up the son of Astyages' 
daughter as our own. Thus you will neither be convicted of 



42 HERODOTUS. 

havine wronofed our masters, nor shall we have consulted ill for 
our own interests ; for the child that is dead will have a royal 
burial, and the one that survives will not be deprived of life." The 
herdsman, happy at the suggestion of his wife, gave to her the 
child that he had brought for the purpose of putting to death, and 
his own, which was dead, he put into the basket in which he had 
brought the other, and having dressed it in all the finery of the 
other child, exposed it in the most desolate part of the mountains. 
On the third day after the infant had been exposed, the herdsman, 
having left one of his assistants as a guard, went to the city, and 
arriving at the house of Harpagus, told him he was ready to show 
the dead body of the infant. Harpagus accordingly sent some of 
the most trusty of his guards, and by that means saw the body, and 
buried the herdsman's child. The other, who afterwards had the 
name of Cyrus, was brought up by the herdsman's wife, who gave 
him some other name, and not that of Cyrus. 

When the child attained the age of ten years, the following 
circumstance discovered him. He was playing in the village in 
which the ox-stalls were, with boys of his own age in the road. 
The boys had chosen this reputed son of the herdsman for their 
king. He in sport appointed some of them to build houses, and 
others to be his body-guards ; one of them to be the king's eye, 
and to another he o-ave the office of brinorinof messages to him, 
assigning to each his proper duty. One of these boys who was 
playing with him, son of Artembares, a man of rank among the 
Medes, refused to obey the orders of Cyrus ; he therefore com- 
manded the others to seize him, and when they obeyed, Cyrus 
scourged the boy very severely. But the boy, as soon as he was 
let loose, considering that he had been treated with great indig- 
nity, took it very much to heart, and hastening to the city, com- 
plained to his father of the treatment he had met with from the 
son of Astyages' herdsman. Artembares, in a transport of anger, 
went immediately to Astyages, and taking his son with him, said 
that he suffered treatment that was not to be borne, adding, 
" Thus, O king, are we insulted by your slave, the son of a herds- 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 43 

man ; " showing the boy's shoulders. Astyages having heard and 
seen what was done, resolving, on account of the rank of Artem- 
bares, to avenge the indignity offered to the youth, sent for the 
herdsman and his son. When both came into his presence, Asty- 
ages, looking upon Cyrus, said : " Have you, who are the son 
of such a man as this, dared to treat the son of one of the principal 
persons in my kingdom with such indignity ? " But Cyrus 
answered: " Sir, I treated him as I did with justice. For the 
boys of our village, of whom he was one, in their play made me 
their king, because I appeared to them the most fitted for that 
office. All the other boys performed what they were ordered, but 
he refused to obey and paid no attention to my commands, so he 
was punished : if I deserve punishment for this here I am ready to 
submit to it." As the boy spoke Astyages recognised him ; the 
character of his face appeared like his own, and his answer more 
free than accorded with his condition ; the time also of the expos- 
ure seemed to agree with the age of the boy. Alarmed at this 
discovery, he was for some time speechless ; and at last, having 
with difficulty recovered himself (being desirous of sending Artem- 
bares away in order that he might examine the herdsman in priv- 
ate), he said: " Artembares, I will take care that neither you nor 
your son shall have any cause of complaint," and dismissed him ; but 
the servants, at the command of Astyages, conducted Cyrus into 
an inner room ; and when the herdsman remained alone, he asked 
him in the absence of witnesses, whence he had the boy, and from 
whose hands he received him ? He affirmed that the boy w^as his 
own son, and that the mother who bore him w^as still livinsf with 
him. Astyages told him, that he did not consult his own safety in 
wishing to be put to the torture ; and as he said this he made a 
signal to his guards to seize him. The man, when brought to the 
torture, discovered the whole matter, speaking the truth through- 
out ; and concluded with prayers and entreaties for pardon. Asty- 
ages, when the herdsman had confessed the truth, did not concern 
himself much about him afterwards ; but attaching great blame to 
Harpagus, he ordered his guards to summon him ; and when 



44 HERODOTUS. 

Astyages asked, " Harpagus, by what kind of death did you dis- 
pose of the child which I dehvered to you, born of my daughter? " 
Harpagus, seeing the herdsman present, had not recourse to false- 
hood, lest he should be detected and convicted, but said, " O king, 
when I had received the infant, I carefully considered how I could 
act according to your wish and command, and, without offending 
you, I might be free from the crime of murder both in your 
daughter's sight and in yours. I therefore sent for this herdsman 
and gave him the child, saying that you had commanded him to 
put it to death, and in saying this I did not speak falsely, for such 
indeed were your orders. In this manner I delivered the infant to 
him, charging him to place it in some desert mountain, and to stay 
and watch till the child was dead, threatening the severest punish- 
ment if he should not fully carry out these injunctions. When he 
had executed these orders, and the child was dead, I sent some of 
the most trusty of my servants, and by means of them beheld the 
body, and buried it. This is the whole truth, O king, and such 
was the fate of the child." 

Thus Harpagus told the real truth ; but Astyages, dissembling 
the anger which he felt on account of what had been done, again 
related to Harpagus the whole matter as he had heard it from the 
herdsman ; and afterwards, when he had repeated it throughout, 
he ended by saying that the child was alive and all was welL 
" For," he added, " I suffered much on account of what had been 
done regarding this child, and could not easily bear the reproaches 
of my daughter; therefore, since fortune has taken a more favor- 
able turn, do you, in the first place, send your own son to accom- 
pany the boy I have recovered ; and, in the next place, (for I pro- 
pose to offer a sacrifice for the preservation of the child to the 
gods, to whom that honor is due), do you be with me at supper." 

Harpagus on hearing these words, when he had paid his homage, 
and had congratulated himself that his fault had turned to so good 
account, and that he was invited to the feast under such auspicious 
circumstances, went to his own home. And as soon as he entered 
he sent his only son, who was about thirteen years of age, and 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 45 

bade him go to Astyages, and do whatever he should command ; 
and then, being full of joy, he told his wife what had happened. 
But when the son of Harpagus arrived, having slain him and cut 
him into joints, Astyages roasted some parts of his flesh and boiled 
others, and having had them well dressed, kept them in readiness. 
At the appointed hour, when the other guests and Harpagus were 
come, tables full of mutton were placed before the rest and Astyao-es 
himself, but before Harpagus all the body of his son, except the 
head, the hands and the feet ; these were laid apart in a basket 
covered over. When Harpagus seemed to have eaten enouo"h, 
Astyages asked him if he was pleased with the entertainment ; 
and when Harpagus replied that he was highly delighted, the 
officers appointed for that purpose brought him the head of his son 
covered up with the hands and feet, and standing before Harpagus, 
the bade him uncover the basket and take what he chose. Har- 
pagus doing as they desired, and uncovering the basket, saw the re- 
mains of his son's body, but he expressed no alarm at the sight, 
and retained his presence of mind ; whereupon Astyages asked 
him if he knew of what animal he had been eatine. He said he 
knew very well, and that whatever a king did was agreeable to 
him. After he had given this answer he gathered the remains of 
the flesh and went home, purposing, as I conjecture, to collect 
all that he could and bury it. 

Astyages thus punished Harpagus; and then, considering what 
he should do with Cyrus, summoned the Magi, who had formerly 
interpreted his dream. When they were come, Astyages asked 
them in what way they had interpreted his vision. They gave the 
same answer as before ; and said that if the boy was still alive, 
and had not already died, he must of necessity be king. He an- 
swered them as follows : " The boy still survives, and while 
living in the country, the boys of the village made him king, and 
he has already performed all such things as kings really do, for he 
has appointed guards, door-keepers, messengers, and all other things 
in like manner ; and now I desire to know to what do these things 
appear to you to tend." The Magi answered, " If the boy be living 



46 HERODOTUS. 

and has already been a king by no settled plan, you may take 
courao-e on his account and make your mind easy, for he will not 
reio'n a second time. For some of our predictions terminate in 
triflinor results ; and dreams, and things like them, are fulfilled by 
slight events." To this Astyages replied : " I too, O Magi, am 
very much of the same opinion, that since the child has been 
named king, the dream is accomplished, and that the boy is no 
lono-er an object of alarm to me ; yet consider well, and carefully 
weicrh what will be the safest course for my family and yourselves." 
The Magi answered : " O king, it is of great importance to us that 
your empire should be firmly established, for otherwise it is alien- 
ated, passing over to this boy, who is a Persian, and we, who are 
Medes, shall be enslaved by Persians, and held in no account as 
being foreigners ; whereas w^hile you, who are of our own country, 
are king, we have a share in the government, and enjoy great 
honors at your hands. Thus, then, we must on every account 
provide for your safety and that of your government ; and now if 
we saw any thing to occasion alarm we should tell you of it before- 
hand ; but now, since the dream has issued in a trifling event, we 
ourselves take courage, and advise you to do the like, and to send 
the boy out of your sight to his parents in Persia." When Asty- 
ages heard this he w^as delighted, and, calling for Cyrus, said to him : 
" Child, I have been unjust to you, by reason of a vain dream ; but 
you survive by your own destin}'. Now go in happiness to Persia, 
and I will send an escort to attend you ; when you arrive there you 
will find a father and mother very different from the herdsman 
Mitradates and his wife." 

Astyages, thus sent Cyrus away, and, upon his arrival at the 
house of Cambyses, his parents received him w^ith the greatest ten- 
derness and joy, having been assured that he had died immediately 
after his birth ; and they inquired of him by what means his life 
had been preserved. He told them, that till that time he believed 
he was the son of Astyages' herdsman. He related that he had 
been brought up by the herdsman's wife ; and he went on con- 
stantly praising her. 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 



47 



When Cyrus had reached man's estate, and proved the most 
manly and beloved of his equals in age, Harpagus paid great 
court to him, sending him presents, from his desire to be 
avenged on Astyages ; for he did not see that he himself, who 
was but a private man, could be able to take vengence on Asty- 
ages ; perceiving, therefore, that Cyrus was growing up to be his 
avenger, he contracted a friendship with him, comparing the suf- 
ferings of Cyrus with his own. And before this he had made the 
following preparations. Seeing Astyages severe in his treatment 
of the Medes, Harpagus holding intercourse with the chief persons 




EGYPTIAN HARE. 



of the nation, one after another, persuaded them that they ought 
to place him at their head, and depose Astyages. When he had 
effected his purpose, and all was ready, Harpagus, wishing to dis- 
cover his designs to Cyrus, who resided in Persia, and having no 
other way left, because the roads were all guarded, contrived the 
following artifice. Having cunningly contrived a hare, by opening 
its belly, and tearing off none of the hair, he put a letter, containing 
what he thought necessary to write, into the body ; and having 
sewed up the belly of the hare, he gave it with some nets to the 
most trusty of his servants, dressed as a hunter, and sent him to 



48 HERODOTUS. 

Persia ; having by word of moutli commanded him to bid Cyrus, 
as he gave him the hare, to open it with liis own hand, and not to 
suffer any one to be present when he did so. This was accord- 
ingly done, and Cyrus having received the hare, opened it ; and 
found the letter which was in it, to the following purport : " Son of 
Cambyses, seeing the gods watch over you, (for otherwise you 
could never have arrived at your present fortune), do you now 
avenge yourself on your murderer Astyag^s ; for as far as regards 
his purpose you are long since dead, but by the care of the gods 
and of me you survive. I suppose you have been long since in- 
formed both what was done regarding yourself, and what I suffered 
at the hands of Astyages, because I did not put you to death, but 
gave you to the herdsman. Then, if you will follow my counsel, 
you shall rule over the whole territory that Astyages now governs. 
Persuade the Persians to revolt, and invade Media ; and whether 
I or any other illustrious Mede be appointed to command the army 
opposed to you, every thing will turn out as you wisli ; for they, 
on the first onset, having revolted from him, and siding with you, 
will endeavor to depose him. Since, then, every thing is ready 
here, do as I advise, and do it quickly." 

Cyrus, upon receiving this intelligence, began to consider by 
what measures he could best persuade the Persians to revolt. 
Havinof written such a letter as he thou<rht fit, he called an assem- 
bly of the Persians, read the letter and said that Ast3^ages had 
appointed him general of the Persians: "Now," he continued, 
" I require you to attend me, every man with a sickle." When all 
had come with their sickles, as had been ordered, Cyrus selected a 
tract of land in Persia, about eighteen or twenty stadia square 
(nearly two and one half miles), which was overgrown with briers, 
and directed them to clear it during the day : when the Persians 
had finished the appointed task, he bade them come again on the 
next day, washed and well attired. In the meantime Cyrus col- 
lected all his father's flocks and herds, had them killed and dressed, 
to entertain the Persian forces, and provided wine and bread in 
abundance. The next day, when the Persians had assembled, he 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 49 

made them lie down on the turf, and feasted them ; and, after the 
repast was over, asked them whether the treatment they had 
received the day before, or the present, was preferable. They 
answered, that the difference was great ; for on the preceding day 
they had every hardship, but on the present everything that was 
good. Then Cyrus discovered his intentions, and said: " Men of 
Persia, the case stands thus ; if you will hearken to me, you may 
enjoy these, and numberless other advantages, without any kind 
of servile labor ; but if you will not hearken to me, innumerable 
hardships, like those of yesterday, await you. Now, therefore, 
obey me, and be free ; for I am persuaded I am born by divine 
providence to undertake this work ; and I deem you to be men 
in no way inferior to the Medes, either in other respects or in war; 
then revolt with all speed from Astyages." 

The Persians under such a leader, gladly asserted their freedom, 
having for a long time felt indignant at being governed by the 
Medes. Astyages, informed of what Cyrus was doing, sent a 
messenger and summoned him ; but Cyrus bade the messenger 
take back word, " that he would come to him sooner than Asty- 
ages desired." When Astyages heard this, he armed all the 
Medes ; and, as if the gods had deprived him of understanding, 
made Harpagus their general, utterly forgetting the outrage he 
had done him. And when the Medes came to an eneaeement 
with the Persians, such of them as knew nothing of the plot, 
fought ; but others went over to the Persians ; and the far greater 
part purposely behaved as cowards and fled. As soon as the news 
was brought to Astyages that the Medes were thus shamefully dis- 
persed, he exclaimed : " Not even so shall Cyrus have occasion to 
rejoice." His first act was to impale the Magi, who had inter- 
preted his dream, and advised him to let Cyrus go ; then he armed 
all the Medes that were left in the city, old and young ; and lead- 
ing them out, engaged the Persians, and was defeated. Astyages 
himself was made prisoner, and lost all the Medes whom he had 
led out. Harpagus, standing by Astyages after he was taken, 
exulted over him and jeered at him ; and among other galling 



5o HERODOTUS. 

words, he asked him about the supper, at which he had feasted 
him with his son's flesh, and inquired, " how he hked slavery in 
exchan<Te for a kingdom." Astyages, looking steadfastly on Har- 
pao-us, asked in return, whether he thought himself the author of 
Cyrus's success. Harpagus said, he did, for, as he had written, 
the achievement was justly due to himself. Astyages thereupon 
proved him to be " the weakest and most unjust of all men ; the 
weakest, in giving the kingdom to another, which he might have 
assumed to himself, if indeed he had effected this change ; and the 
most unjust, because he had enslaved the whole nation of the 
Medes on account of the supper. 

So Astyages, after he had reigned thirty-five years, was de- 
posed. But Cyrus kept him with him till he died, without doing 
him any further injury. Thus did Cyrus come to the throne, con- 
quer Croesus, and become master ol all Asia. 

The Persians, according to my own knowledge, observe the 
following customs : — It is not their practice to erect statues, or 
temples, or altars, but they charge those with folly who do so ; be- 
cause, as I conjecture, they do not think the gods have human 
forms, as the Greeks do. They are accustomed to ascend the 
highest parts of the mountains, and offer sacrifice to Jupiter, and 
they call the whole circle of the heavens by the name of Jupiter. 
They sacrifice to the sun and moon, to the earth, fire, water, and 
the winds. To these alone they sacrificed in the earliest times : 
but they have since learnt from the Arabians and Assyrians to sac- 
rifice to Venus Urania, whom the Assyrians call Venus Mylitta, 
the Arabians, Alitta, and the Persians Mitra. They do not erect 
altars nor kindle fires when about to sacrifice ; they do not use 
libations, or flutes, or fillets, or cakes ; but, when any one wishes 
to offer sacrifice to any one of these deities, he leads the victim to 
a clean spot, and invokes the god, usually having his tiara decked 
with myrtle. He that sacrifices is not permitted to pray for bless- 
ings for himself alone ; but he is obliged to offer prayers for the 
prosperity of all the Persians, and the king, for he is himself in- 
cluded in the Persians. When he has cut the victim into small 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 5 1 

pieces, and boiled the flesh, he strews under it a bed of tender 
grass, generally trefoil, and then lays all the flesh upon it ; when 
he has put every thing in order, one of the Magi standing by sings 
an ode concerning the original of the gods, which they say is the 
incantation ; and without one of the Magi it is not lawful for them 
to sacrifice. After having waited a short time, he that has sacri- 
ficed carries away the flesh and disposes of it as he thinks fit. It 
is their custom to honor their birthday above all other days ; and 
on this day they furnish their table in a more plentiful manner than 
at other times. The rich then produce an ox, a horse, a camel, and 
an ass, roasted whole in an oven ; but the poor produce smaller 
cattle. They are moderate at their meals, but eat of many after- 
dishes, and those not served up together. On this account the 
Persians say, " that the Greeks rise hungry from the table, because 
nothing worth mentioning is brought in after dinner, and that if 
any thing were brought in, they would not leave off eating." The 
Persians are much addicted to wine. They are accustomed to de- 
bate the most important affairs when intoxicated ; but whatever 
they have determined on in such deliberation, is on the following 
day, when they are sober, proposed to them by the master of the 
house where they have met to consult ; and if they approve of it 
when sober also, then they adopt it ; If not, they reject it. And 
whatever they have first resolved on when sober, they reconsider 
when intoxicated. When they meet one another in the streets, 
one may discover by the following custom, whether those who 
meet are equals. For instead of accosting one another, they kiss 
on the mouth ; if one be a litde inferior to the other, they kiss the 
cheek ; but if he be of a much lower rank, he prostrates himself 
before the other. 

The Persians are of all nations the most ready to adopt foreign 
customs ; for they wear the Medic costume, thinking it handsomer 
than their own ; and in war they use the Egyptian cuirass. From 
the age of five years to twenty, they instruct their sons in three 
things only : to ride, to use the bow, and to speak the truth. Be- 
fore he is five years of age, a son is not admitted to the presence 



52 HERODOTUS. 

of his father, but Hves entirely with the women : the reason of this 
custom is, that if he should die in childhood, he may occasion no 
grief to his father. 

Now I much approve of the above custom, as also of the follow- 
ing, that not even the king is allowed to put any one to death for 
a single crime, nor any private Persian exercise extreme severity 
against any of his domestics for one fault, but if on examination he. 
should find that his misdeeds are more numerous and greater than 
his services, he may in that case give vent to his anger. They say 
that no one ever yet killed his own father or mother. To tell a 
lie is considered by them the greatest disgrace ; next to that, to be 
in debt ; for the reason that one who is in debt must of necessity 
tell lies. Whosoever of the citizens has the leprosy or scrofula, is 
not permitted to stay within a town, nor to have communication 
with other Persians ; and they say that a man is afflicted with 
these diseases from having committed some offence against the 
sun. Every stranger that is seized with these distempers they 
drive out of the country ; and they do the same to white pigeons, 
making the same charge against them. They neither spit, nor 
wash their hands in a river, but pay extreme veneration to all 
rivers. Another circumstance is also peculiar to them which has 
escaped the notice of the Persians themselves, but not of us. Their 
names, which correspond with their personal forms and their rank, 
all terminate in the same letter (s) which the Dorians call San, and 
the lonians Sigma. If you inquire into this you will find, that all 
Persian names, without exception, end in the same letter. These 
things I can with certainty affirm to be true, since I myself know 
them. But what follows, relating to the dead, is only secretly men- 
tioned, viz. : that the dead body of a Persian is never buried until 
it has been torn by some bird or dog ; but I know for a certainty 
that the Magi do this, for they do it openly. The Persians then, 
having covered the body with wax, conceal it in the ground. The 
Magi differ very much from all other men, and particularly from 
the Egyptian priests, for the latter hold it matter of religion not to 
kill any thing that has life, except such things as they offer in sac- 



HISTORY OF THE MEDES. 63 

rifice ; whereas the Magi kill every thing with their own hands, 
except a dog or a man ; and they think they do a meritori- 
ous thing, when they kill ants, serpents, and other reptiles and 
birds. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE ASIATIC GREEKS AND THE LYDIAN REVOLT. 

The lonians and JEoYians, as soon as the Lydians were sub- 
dued by the Persians, sent ambassadors to Cyrus at Sardis, wish- 
ing to become subject to him, on the same terms as they had been 
to Croesus. But, when he heard their proposal, he told them this 
story : " A piper seeing some fishes in the sea, began to pipe, 
expecting that they would come to shore ; but finding his hopes 
disappointed, he took a casting- net, with which he caught a great 
number of fishes, and drew them out. When he saw them leaping 
about, he said to the fishes : ' Cease your dancing, since when I 
piped you would not come out and dance.' " Cyrus told this story 
to the lonians and yEolians, because the lonians, when Cyrus 
pressed them by his ambassador to revolt from Croesus, refused to 
consent, and now, when the business was done, were ready to 
listen to him. When the lonians heard this message, they sever- 
ally fortified themselves with walls, and met together at the Panio- 
nium, with the exception of the Milesians ; for Cyrus made an alli- 
ance with them on the same terms as the Lydians had done. The 
rest of the lonians resolved unanimously to send ambassadors to 
Sparta, to implore them to succor the lonians. These lonians, to 
whom the Panionium belongs, have built their cities under the 
finest sky and climate of the world that we know of ; for neither 
the regions that are above it, nor those that are below, nor the 
parts to the east or west, are at all equal to Ionia ; for some of 
them are oppressed by cold and rain, others by heat and drought. 
These lonians do not all use the same language, but have four 
varieties of dialect. Miletus, the first of them, lies toward the 
south. 



THE ASIATIC GREEKS. 55 

The Milesians were sheltered from danger, as they had made 
an alliance. The islanders also had nothing to fear ; for the 
Phoenicians were not yet subject to the Persians, nor were the 
Persians themselves at all acquainted with maritime affairs. Now 
the Milesians had seceded from the rest of the lonians only for 
this reason, that weak as the Grecian race then was, the Ionian 
was weakest of all, and of least account; for except Athens, there 
was no other city of note. The other lonians, therefore, and the 
Athenians shunned the name, and would not be called lonians; 
and even now many of them appear to me to be ashamed of the 
name. But these twelve cities gloried in the name, and built a 
temple for their own use, to which they gave the name of Panio- 
nium. 

When the ambassadors of the lonians and /Eolians arrived at 
Sparta, they made choice of a Phocsean, whose name was Pyther- 
mus, to speak in behalf of all. Putting on a purple robe, in order 
that as many as possible of the Spartans might hear of it and 
assemble, he addressed them at length, imploring their assistance. 
But the Lacedaemonians would not listen to him, and determined 
not to assist the lonians: they therefore returned home. Yet the 
Lacedaemonians, though they had rejected the Ionian ambassa- 
dors, despatched men in a penteconter, to keep an eye upon the 
affairs of Cyrus and Ionia. These men arriving in Phocaea, sent 
the most eminent person among them, whose name was Lacrines, 
to Sardis, to warn Cyrus in the name of the Lacedaemonians, " not 
to injure any city on the Grecian territory, for in that case they 
would not pass it by unnoticed." When the herald gave this 
message, it is related that Cyrus inquired of the Greeks who were 
present, who the Lacedaemonians were, and how many in number, 
that they sent him such a warning. And when informed, he said 
to the Spartan herald, " I was never yet afraid of those, who in the 
midst of their city have a place set apart, in which they collect and 
cheat one another by false oaths ; and if I continue in health, not 
the calamities of the lonians shall be talked about, but their own." 
This taunt of Cyrus was levelled at the Greeks in general, who 



56 HERODOTUS. 

have markets for the purposes of buying and selling ; for the Per- 
sians have no such a thing as a market. After this, Cyrus in- 
trusted Tabalus a Persian with the government of Sardis, and 
appointed Pactyas a Lydian to bring away the gold, both that 
belonging to Croesus and to the other Lydians, and departed with 
Cyrus for Ecbatana, for from the first he took no account of the 
lonians. But Babylon was an obstacle to him, as were also the 
Bactrians, the Sacae, and the Egyptians ; against whom he resolved 
to lead an army in person, and to send some other general against 
the lonians. But as soon as Cyrus had marched from Sardis, 
Pactyas prevailed on the Lydians to revolt from Tabalus and 
Cyrus ; and going down to the sea-coast, with all the gold taken 
from Sardis in his possession, he hired mercenaries and persuaded 
the inhabitants of the coast to join him ; and then having marched 
against Sardis, he besieged Tabalus, who v/as shut up in the 
citadel. 

When Cyrus heard this news on his march, he said to Croesus ; 

"Croesus, what will be the end of these things? the Lydians, 
it seems, will never cease to give trouble to me, and to them- 
selves. I am in doubt whether it will not be better to reduce 
them to slavery ; for I appear to have acted like one who, having 
killed the father, has spared the children ; so I am carrying away 
you, who have been something more than a father to the Lydians, 
and have intrusted their city to the Lydians themselves : and then 
I wonder at their rebellion ! " Croesus, fearinsf lest he should 
utterly destroy Sardis, answered : " Sir, you have but too much 
reason for what you say ; yet do not give full vent to your anger, 
nor utterly destroy an ancient city, which is innocent as well of 
the former as of the present offence : for of the former I myself 
was guilty, and now bear the punishment on my own head ; but in 
the present instance Pactyas, to whom you intrusted Sardis, is the 
culprit ; let him therefore pay the penalty. But pardon the Lydi- 
ans, and enjoin them to observe the following regulations, to the 
end that they may never more revolt, nor be troublesome to you : 
send to them and order them to keep no weapons of war in their 



THE ASIATIC GREEKS. 5/ 

possession ; and enjoin them to wear tunics under their cloaks, and 
buskins on their feet ; and require them to teach their sons to play 
on the cithara, to strike the guitar, and to sell by retail; and then 
you will soon see them becoming women instead of men, so that 
they will never give you any apprehensions about their revolting." 
Croesus suggested this plan, thinking it would be more desirable 
for the Lydians, than that they should be sold for slaves ; and 
being persuaded, that unless he could suggest some feasible pro- 
posal, he should not prevail with him to alter his resolution : and 
he dreaded also, that the Lydians, if they should escape the 
present danger, might hereafter revolt from the Persians, and 
bring utter ruin on themselves. Cyrus, pleased with the expedient, 
laid aside his anger, and said that he would follow his advice : then 
having sent for Mazares, a Mede, he commanded him to order the 
Lydians to conform themselves to the regulations proposed by 
Croesus, and moreover to enslave all the rest who had joined the 
Lydians in the attack on Sardis ; but by all means to bring Pactyas 
to him alive. Cyrus having given these orders on his way, proceeded 
to the settlements of the Persians. But Pactyas heard that the army 
which was coming against him was close at hand, and fled in great 
consternation to Cyme. Mazares marched against Sardis with an 
inconsiderable division of Cyrus's army, but found that Pactyas and 
his party were no longer there. He, however, compelled the 
Lydians to conform to the injunctions of Cyrus ; who, by his order, 
completely changed their mode of life : after this Mazares despatched 
messengers to Cyme, requiring them to deliver up Pactyas. But 
the Cymseans, in order to come to a decision, resolved to refer the 
matter to the deity at Branchidae, for an oracular shrine was there 
erected in former times, which all the lonians and i^olians were in 
the practice of consulting. The Cymseans asked the oracle " what 
course they should pursue respecting Pactyas, that would be most 
pleasing to the gods : " the answer to their question was, that they 
should deliver up Pactyas to the Persians. When this answer was 
reported, they determined to give him up; but, Aristodicus the son 
of Heraclides, a man of high repute among the citizens, distrusting 



58 HERODOTUS. 

the oracle, and suspecting the sincerity of the consulters, prevented 
them from doing so ; till at last other messengers, among whom 
was Aristodicus, went to inquire a second time concerning Pactyas. 
When they arrived at Branchidae, Aristodicus consulted the oracle 
in the name of all, inquiring in these words: " O king, Pactyas, a 
Lydian, has come to us as a suppliant, to avoid a violent death at 
the hands of the Persians. They now demand him, and require 
the Cymseans to give him up. We, however, though we dread the 
Persian power, have not yet dared to surrender the suppliant, till it 
be plainly declared by thee what we ought to do." The oracle 
gave the same answer as before. Upon this Aristodicus deliber- 
ately acted as follows ; walking round the temple, he took away all 
the sparrows and all other kinds of birds that had built nests in the 
temple ; whereupon a voice issued from the sanctuary ; addressing 
Aristodicus, it spoke as follows : " O most impious of men, how 
darest thou do this ? Dost thou tear my suppliants from my 
temple?" Aristodicus without hesitation answered, " O king, art 
thou then so careful to succor thy suppliants, but biddest the 
Cymseans to deliver up theirs?" The oracle again rejoined: 
" Yes, I bid you do so ; that having acted impiously, ye may the 
sooner perish, and never more come and consult the oracle about 
the delivering up of suppliants." When the Cymseans heard this 
latter answer, not wishing to bring destruction on themselves by 
surrendering Pactyas, or to subject themselves to a siege by pro- 
tecting him, they sent him away to Mitylene. But the Mitylenaeans, 
when Mazaressent a message to them requiring them to deliver up 
Pactyas, were preparing to do so for some remuneration ; what, I 
am unable to say precisely, for the proposal was never completed. 
For the Cymseans, being informed of what was being done by the 
Mitylenseans, despatched a vessel to Lesbos, and transported 
Pactyas, to Chios, whence he was torn by violence from the temple 
of Minerva Poliuchus by the Chians, and delivered up. The Chians 
delivered him up in exchange for Atarneus, a place situate in 
Mysia, opposite Lesbos. In this manner Pactyas fell into the hands 
of the Persians; who kept him under guard in order that they 



THE ASIATIC GREEKS. 59 

might deliver him to Cyrus. For a long time after this, none of 
the Chians would offer barley-meal from Atarneus to any of the 
gods, or make any cakes of the fruit that came from them ; but all 
the productions of that country were excluded from the temples. 
Mazares, after this, marched against those who had assisted in 
besieging Tabalus ; and in the first place reduced the Prienians to 
slavery, and in the next overran the whole plain of the Mseander, 
and gave it to his army to pillage; and he treated Magnesia in the 
same manner : but shortly afterward fell sick and died. 

On his death Harpagus came down as his successor in the 
command ; he also was by birth a Mede, the same whom Astyages 
king of the Medes entertained at the impious feast, and who 
assisted Cyrus in ascending the throne. This man being appointed 
general by Cyrus, on his arrival in Ionia, took several cities by 
means of earth-works ; for he forced the people to retire within their 
fortifications, and then, having heaped up mounds against the 
walls, he carried the cities by storm. Phocsea was the first place 
in Ionia that he attacked. 

These Phocaeans were the first of all the Greeks who under- 
took long voyages, and they are the people who discovered the 
Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas, Iberia, and Tartessus.' They made 
their voyages in fifty-oared galleys, and not in merchant-ships. 
When they arrived at Tartessus they were kindly received by the 
king of the Tartessians, whose name was Arganthonius ; he 
reigned eighty years over Tartessus, and lived to the age of one 
hundred and twenty. The Phocaeans became such great favorites 
with him, that he at first solicited them to abandon Ionia, and to 
setde in any part of his territory they should choose ; but after- 
ward, finding he could not prevail with them to accept his offer, 
and hearing from them the increasing power of the Mede, he gave 
them money for the purpose of building a wall around their city; 
he must have given it unsparingly, for the wall is not a few stades 
in circumference, and is entirely built of large and well-compacted 
stones. When Harpagus had marched his army against the 

' Tartessus was situated between the two branches of the Boetis, now the Guadalquiver. 



6o HERODOTUS. 

Phocseans, he besieged them, but offered these terms : •' that he 
would be content if the Phocseans would throw down only one of 
their battlements, and consecrate one house to the kings use!' 
The Phocaeans, detesting slavery, said, " that they wished for one 
day to deliberate, and would then give their answer"; but while 
they were deliberating they required him to draw off his forces 
from the wall. Harpagus said, that " though he well knew their 
design, yet he would permit them to consult together." In the 
interval, then, during which Harpagus withdrew his army from the 
wall, the Phocseans launched their fifty-oared galleys, and having 
put their wives, children, and goods on board, together with the 
images from the temples and other offerings, except works of 
bronze or stone, or pictures, they embarked themselves, and set 
sail for Chios : and the Persians took possession of Phocaea, aban- 
doned by all its inhabitants. The Phocseans, when the Chians 
refused to sell them the CEnyssse Islands, for fear they should 
become the seat of trade, and their own island be thereby excluded, 
directed their course to Cyrnus ; where, by the admonition of an 
oracle, they had twenty years before built a city, named Alalia. 
But Arganthonius was at that time dead. On their passage to 
Cyrnus, having first sailed down to Phocaea, they put to death the 
Persian garrison which had been left by Harpagus to guard the 
city. Afterward, when this was accomplished, they pronounced 
terrible imprecations on any who should desert the fleet ; besides 
this, they sunk a mass of red-hot iron, and swore "that they would 
never return to Phocaea, till this burning mass should appear 
again." Nevertheless, as they were on their way toward Cyrnus, 
more than one half of the citizens were seized with reeret and 
yearning for their city and dwellings in the country, and violating 
their oaths, sailed back to Phocaea ; but such of them as kept to 
their oath weighed anchor and sailed from the CEnyssse Islands. 
On their arrival at Cyrnus they lived for five years in common 
with the former settlers : but as they ravaged the territories of all 
their neighbors, the Tyrrhenians and Carthaginians combined to- 
gether to make war against them, each with sixty ships : and'the 



THE ASIATIC GREEKS. 6 1 

Phocaeans, on their part, having manned their ships, consisting of 
sixty in number, met them in the Sardinian Sea ; and having en- 
gaged, the Phocaeans obtained a kind of Cadmean victory;' for 
forty of their own ships were destroyed, and the twenty that sur- 
vived were disabled, for their prows were blunted. They therefore 
sailed back to Alalia, took on board their wives and children, with 
what property their ships were able to carry, and leaving Cyrnus, 
sailed to Rhegium. As to the men belonging to the ships de- 
stroyed, most of them fell into the hands of the Carthaginians and 
Tyrrhenians, who took them on shore and stoned them to death. 
But afterward all animals belonging to the Argyllaeans that passed 
by the spot where the Phocaeans who had been stoned lay, became 
distorted, maimed, and crippled, as well sheep, as beasts of burden 
and men. The Argyllaeans, therefore, being anxious to expiate 
the guilt, sent to Delphi ; and the Pythian enjoined them to use 
those rites which they still observe ; for they commemorate their 
death with great magnificence, and have established gymnastic 
and equestrian contests. This was the fate of these Phocaeans ; 
but the others, who fled to Rhegium, left that place, and got pos- 
session of the town in the territory of CEnotria, which is now 
called Hyela, which they colonized by the advice of a certain Posi- 
donian, who told them the Pythia had directed them to establish 
sacred rites to Cyrnus as being a hero, but not to colonize the 
island of that name. 

The Teians also acted nearly in the same manner as the Pho- 
caeans. For when Harpagus by means of his earth-works had 
made himself master of their walls, they all went on board their 
ships, and sailed away to Thrace, and there settled in the city of 
Abdera ; which Timesius of Clazomenae having formerly founded, 
did not enjoy, but was driven out by the Thracians, and is now 
honored as a hero by the Teians of Abdera. 

These were the only lonians who abandoned their country 
rather than submit to servitude. The rest, except the Milesians, 
gave battle to Harpagus, and as well as those who abandoned 

* A proverbial expression signifying " that the victors suffered more than the vanquished." 



62 HERODOTUS. 

their country, proved themselves brave men, each fighting for his 
own ; but defeated and subdued, they remained in their own coun- 
tries, and submitted to the commands imposed on them. The 
Milesians, as I have before mentioned, having made a league with 
Cyrus, remained quiet. So was Ionia a second time enslaved, and 
the islanders, dreading the same fate, made their submission to 
Cyrus. When the lonians were brought into this wretched con- 
dition, and nevertheless still held assemblies at Panionium, I am 
informed that Bias of Priene gave them most salutary advice, 
which, had they barkened to him, would have made them the 
most flourishing of all the Greeks. He advised, "that the lonians, 
should sail in one common fleet to Sardinia, and there build one 
city for all the lonians ; thus being freed from servitude, they 
would flourish, inhabiting the most considerable of the islands, and 
governing the rest ; whereas if they remained in Ionia, he saw no 
hope of recovering their liberty." But before Ionia was ruined, 
the sueofestion of Thales, the Milesian, who was of Phoenician 
extraction, was also good, who advised that the lonians should 
constitute one general council in Teos, which stands in the centre 
of Ionia ; and that the rest of the inhabited cities should be gov- 
erned as independent states. 

Harpagus having subdued Ionia, marched against the Carians, 
Cannians, Lycians, lonians, and yEolians ; of whom the Carians 
were by far the most famous of all nations in those times. They 
introduced three inventions which the Greeks have adopted. For 
the Carians set the example of fastening crests upon helmets and 
of putting devices on shields ; they are also the first who attached 
handles to shields ; until their time all who used shields carried 
them without handles, guiding them with leathern thongs, having 
them slung round their necks and left shoulders. 

The Lycians were originally sprung from Crete, for in ancient 
time Crete was entirely in the possession of barbarians. But a 
dispute having arisen between Sarpedon and Minos, sons of Eu- 
ropa, respecting the sovereign power, when Minos got the upper 
hand in the struggle, he drove out Sarpedon with his partisans ; 



THE ASIATIC GREEKS. ^t^ 

and they being expelled came to the land of Milyas in Asia, and 
were afterwards joined by Lycus son of Pandion of Athens, who 
was likewise driven out by his brother ^geus, and came to be 
called Lycians after him. Their customs are partly Cretan and 
partly Carian ; but they have one peculiar to themselves, in which 
they differ from all other nations : they take their name from their 
mothers and not from their fathers ; so that if any one asks an- 
other who he is, he will describe himself by his mother's side, and 
reckon his ancestry in the female line. And if a free-born woman 
marry a slave, the children are accounted of pure birth ; but if a 
man though a citizen, and of high rank, marry a foreigner, the 
children are considered low born. 

All Cnidia, except a small space, is surrounded by water ; for 
the Ceramic gulf bound.s it on the north, and on the south the sea 
by Syme and Rhodes : now this small space, which is about five 
stades in breadth, the Cnidians, wishing to make their territory 
insular, designed to dig through, while Harpagus was subduino- 
Ionia. For the whole of their dominions were within the isthmus ; 
and where the Cnidian territory terminates toward the continent, 
there is the isthmus that they designed to dig through. But, as 
they were carrying on the work with great diligence, the work- 
men appeared to be wounded to a greater extent and in a more 
strange manner than usual, both in other parts of the body, and 
particularly in the eyes, by the chipping of the rock ; they there- 
fore sent deputies to Delphi to inquire what was the cause of the 
obstruction ; and, as the Cnidians say, the Pythia answered as 
follows in trimeter verse : " Build not a tower on the isthmus, nor 
dig it through, for Jove would have made it an island had he so 
willed." So the Cnidians desisted from their work, and surren- 
dered without resistence to Harpagus, as soon as he approached 
with his army. The Pedasians were situated inland above Hali- 
carnassus. When any mischief is about to befall them or their 
neighbors, the priestess of Minerva has a long beard : this has 
three times occurred. These were the only people about Caria 
who opposed Harpagus for any time and gave him much 



64 HERODOTUS. 

trouble, by fortifying a mountain called Lyda. After some time, 
however, they were subdued. The Lycians, when Harpagus 
marched his army toward the Xanthian plain, went out to meet 
him, and engaging with very inferior numbers, displayed great 
feats of valor. But being defeated and shut up within their city, 
they collected their wives, children, property, and servants within 
the citadel, and then set fire to it and burnt it to the ground. 
When they had done this, and engaged themselves by the strong- 
est oaths, all the Xanthians went out and died fighting. Of the 
modern Lycians, who are said to be Xanthians, all, except eighty 
families, are strangers ; but these eighty families happened at the 
time to be away from home and so survived. Thus Harpagus got 
possession of Xanthus and Caunia almost in the same manner ; 
for the Caunians generally followed the example of the Lycians. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CONQUEST OF ASSYRIA AND THE WAR WITH THE MASSAGET^. 

While Harpagus was reducing the lower parts of Asia, Cyrus 
had conquered the upper parts, subduing every nation without ex- 
ception. The greatest parts of these I shall pass by without notice ; 
but I will make mention of those which gave him m.ost trouble, 
and are most worthy of being recorded. 

Assyria contains many large cities, the most renowned and the 
strongest of which, where the seat of o-overnment was established 
after the destruction of Nineveh, was Babylon, which is of the fol- 
lowing description. The city stands in a spacious plain, and is 
quadrangular, and shows a front on every side of one hundred and 
twenty stades [i5 miles] ; these stades make up the sum of four 
hundred and eighty in the whole circumference. It was adorned 
in a manner surpassing any city we are acquainted with. In the 
first place, a moat deep, wide, and full of water, runs entirely round 
it; next, there is a wall fifty royal cubits in breadth [about 84 
feet], and in height two hundred [270 feet], but the royal cubit is 
larger than the common one by three fingers' breadth. And here 
I think I ought to explain how the earth, taken out of the moat, 
was consumed, and in what manner the wall was built. As they 
dug the moat they made bricks of the earth that was taken out ; 
and when they had moulded a sufficient number they baked them 
in kilns. Then making use of hot asphalt for cement, and laying 
wattled reeds between the thirty bottom courses of bricks, they 
first built up the sides of the moat, and afterward the wall itself in 
the same manner ; and on the top of the wall, at the edges, they 
built dwellings of one story, fronting each other, having spaces be- 
tween these dwellinors wide enouofh to turn a chariot with four 



66 HERODOTUS. 

horses. In the circumference of the wall there were a hundred 
gates, all of bronze, as also were the posts and lintels. Eight days' 
journey from Babylon [200 miles] stands another city, called Is, on 
a small river of the same name, which discharges its stream into 
the Euphrates ; this river brings down with its water many lumps 
of bitumen, from which the bitumen used in the wall of Babylon 
was taken. The city consists of two divisions, for the Euphrates, 
separates it in the middle : this river, which is broad, deep, and 
rapid, flows from Armenia, and falls into the Red Sea. The wall 
on either bank has an elbow carried down to the river ; and thence 
alonor the curvatures of each bank runs a wall of baked bricks. 
The city itself, which is full of houses three and four stories high, 
is cut up into straight streets running at right angles to each other. 
At the end of each street a little gate is formed in the wall along 
the river side, in number equal to the streets ; and they are all 
made of bronze, and lead down to the edge of the river. This 
outer wall is the chief defence, but another wall runs round within, 
not much inferior to the other in strength, though narrower. In 
the middle of each division of the city fortified buildings were 
erected ; in one, the royal palace, with a spacious and strong en- 
closure, bronze-gated ; andin the other, the precinct of Jupiter Belus, 
which in my time was still in existence, a square building of two 
stades [^ of a mile] on every side. In the midst of this precinct is 
built a solid tower of one stade both in length and breadth, and on 
this tower rose another, and another upon that, to the number of 
eight. And there is an ascent to these outside, running spirally 
round all the towers. About the middle of the ascent there is a 
landing-place and seats on which those who go up may rest them- 
selves ; and in the uppermost tower stands a spacious temple, 
handsomely furnished, and in it a large couch, with a table of 
gold by its side. No statue has been erected within it, but as the 
Chaldaeans, who are priests of this deity, assert, though I cannot 
credit what they say, the god himself comes to the temple and re- 
clines on the bed, in the same manner as the Egyptians say hap- 
pens at Thebes in Egypt. 



THE CONQUEST OF ASSYRIA. 6y 

There is also another temple below, within the precinct at Baby- 
lon ; in it is a large golden statue of Jupiter seated, and near it a 
great table of gold ; the throne also and the step are of gold, which 
together weigh eight hundred talents [twenty-two tons], as the 
Chaldceans affirm. Outside the temple is a golden altar ; and 
another large altar, where full-grown sheep are sacrificed ; for on 
the golden altar only sucklings may be offered. On the great altar 
the Chaldseans consume yearly a thousand talents [twenty-seven 
tons] of frankincense when they celebrate the festival of this god. 
There was also at that time within the precincts of this temple a 
statue of solid gold, twelve cubits high [eighteen feet] ; I, indeed, 
did not see it, but only relate what is said by the Chaldseans. Da- 
rius, son of Hystaspes, formed a design to take away this statue, 
but dared not do so ; but Xerxes, son of Darius, took it, and killed 
the priest who forbade him to remove it. 

There were many others who reigned over Babylon, whom I 
shall mention in my Assyrian history, who beautified the walls and 
temples, and amongst them were two women. The first of these, 
named Semiramis, lived five generations before the other ; she 
raised mounds along the plain, which are worthy of admiration ; 
for before, the river used to overflow the whole plain like a sea. 
But the other, who was queen next after her, and whose name was 
Nitocris, (and she was much more sagacious than the other queen,) 
in the first place left monuments of herself, which I shall presently 
describe ; and in the next place, when she saw the power of the 
Medes growing formidable and restless, and that, among other 
cities, Nineveh was captured by them, she took every possible pre- 
caution for her own defence. First of all, the River Euphrates, 
which before ran in a straight line, and which flows throueh the 
middle of the city, by having channels dug above, she made so 
winding, that in its course it touched three times at one and the 
same village in Assyria, called Arderica : and to this day, those 
who go from our sea to Babylon, if they travel by the Euphrates, 
come three times to this village on three successive days. She also 
raised on either bank of the river a mound, astonishino- for its masf- 



68 HERODOTUS. 

nitude and height. At a considerable distance above Babylon, 
she had a reservoir for a lake dug, carrying it out some distance 
from the river, and in the depth digging down to Avater, and in 
width making its circumference of four hundred and twenty stades 
[about fifty-two and a half miles]: she consumed the soil from this 
excavacation by heaping it up on the banks of the river, and when 
it was completely dug, she had stones brought and built a casing to 
it all round. She had both these works done, the river made wind- 
ino", and the whole excavation a lake, in order that the current, be- 
in_o- broken by frequent turnings, might be more slow, and the 
navigation to Babylon tedious, and that after the voyage, a long 
march round the lake might follow. All this was done in that part 
of the country where the approach to Babylon is nearest, and where 
is the shortest way for the Medes ; in order that the Medes might 
not, by holding intercourse with her people, become acquainted 
with her affairs. She enclosed herself, therefore, with these de- 
fences by digging, and immediately afterwards made the following 
addition. As the city consisted of two divisions, which were separ- 
ated by the river, during the reign of former kings, when any one 
had occasion to cross from one division to the other, he was obliged 
to cross in a boat : and this, in my opinion, was very troublesome : 
she therefore provided for this, for after she had dug the reservoir 
for the lake, she left this other monument built by similar toil. She 
had large blocks of stone cut, and when they were ready and the 
place was completely dug out, she turned the whole stream of the 
river into the place she had dug : while this was filling, and the 
ancient channel had become dry, in the first place, she lined with 
burnt bricks the banks of the river throughout the city, and the de- 
cents that lead from the gates to the river, in the same manner as 
the walls. In the next place, about the middle of the city, she built 
a bridge with the stones she had prepared, and bound them to- 
gether with plates of lead and iron. Upon these stones she laid, 
during the day, square planks of timber, on which the Babylonians 
might pass over ; but at night these planks were removed, to pre- 
vent people from crossing by night and robbing one another. 



THE CONQUEST OE ASSYRIA. 



69 



When the hollow that was dug had become a lake filled by the 
river, and the bridge was finished, she brought back the river to 
its ancient channel from the lake. 

The same queen also contrived the following deception. Over 
the most frequented gate of the city she prepared a sepulchre for 




WINGED HUMAN-HEADED l.ION. 

herself, high up above the gate itself ; and on the sepulchre she 
had enofraved, Should any one of my successors, kings of Baby- 
lon, find himself in want of money, let him open this sepul- 
chre, AND TAKE AS MUCH AS HE CHOOSES ; BUT IF HE BE NOT IN 
V^ANT, let HEM NOT OPEN IT ; FOR THAT WERE NOT WELL. This 



/O HERODOTUS, 

monument remained undisturbed, untilthe kingdom fell to Darius; 
but it seemed hard to Darius that this gate should be of no use, 
and that when money was lying there, and this money inviting 
him to take it, he should not do so ; but no use was made of this 
gate for this reason, that a dead body was over the head of any 
> one who passed through it. He therefore opened the sepulchre, 
and instead of money, found only the body, and these words writ- 
ten : Hadst thou not been insatiably covetous, and greedy of 

THE MOST SORDID GAIN, THOU WOULDEST NOT HAVE OPENED THE 
CHAMBERS OF THE DEAD. 

Cyrus made war against the son of this queen, who bore the 
name of his father Labynetus, and had the empire of Assyria. 
Now when the great king leads his army in person, he carries with 
him from home well prepared provisions and cattle ; and he takes 
with him water from the river Choaspes, which flows past Susa, of 
which alone, the king drinks. A great number of four-wheeled 
carriages drawn by mules carry the water of this river, after it has 
been boiled in silver vessels, and follow him from place to place 
wherever he marches. Cyrus, in his march against Babylon, ar- 
rived at the river Gyndes, whose fountains are in the Matianian 
mountains, and which flows through the land of the Dardanians, 
and falls into another river, the Tigris ; the latter, flowing by the 
city of Opis, discharges itself into the Red Sea. When Cyrus 
was endeavoring to cross this river Gyndes, which can be passed 
only in boats, one of the sacred white horses through wantonness 
plunged into the stream, and attempted to swim over, but the 
stream having carried him away and drowned him, Cyrus was 
much enraged with the river for this affront, and threatened to 
make his stream so weak, that henceforth women should easily 
cross it without wettinof their knees. After this menace, deferring 
his expedition against Babylon, he divided his army into two parts ; 
and marked out by lines one hundred and eighty channels, on 
each side of the river, diverging every way ; then having dis- 
tributed his army, he commanded them to dig. His design was 
indeed executed by the great numbers he employed ; but they 



THE CONQ UEST OF ASS YRIA. 7 1 

spent the whole summer in the work. When Cyrus had avenged 
himself on the river Gyndes, by distributing it into three hundred 
and sixty channels, and the second spring began to shine, he 
then advanced against Babylon. But the Babylonians, having 
taken the field, awaited his coming ; and when he had advanced 
near the city, the Babylonians gave battle, and, being defeated, 
were shut up in the city. But as they had been long aware of the 
restless spirit of Cyrus, and saw that he attacked all nations alike, 
they had laid up provisions for many years ; and therefore were 
under no apprehensions about a siege. On the other hand, Cyrus 
found himself in difficulty, since much time had elapsed, and his 
affairs were not at all advanced. Whether therefore some one else 
made the suggestion to him in his perplexity, or whether he him- 
self devised the plan, he had recourse to the following stratagem. 
Having stationed the bulk of his army near the passage of the river 
where it enters Babylon, and again having stationed another divi- 
sion beyond the city, where the river makes its exit, he gave orders 
to his forces to enter the city as soon as they should see the 
stream fordable. Havin«- thus stationed his forces, and pfiven these 
directions, he himself marched away with the ineffective part of his 
army ; and coming to the lake, Cyrus did the same with respect to 
the river and the lake as the queen of the Babylonians had done. 
For having diverted the river, by means of a canal, into the lake, 
which was before a swamp, he made the ancient channel fordable 
by the sinking of the river. When this took place, the Persians 
who were appointed to that purpose close to the stream of the 
river, which had now subsided to about the middle of a man's 
thigh, entered Babylon by this passage. If, however, the Babylo- 
nians had been aware of it beforehand, or had known what Cyrus 
was about, they would not have suffered the Persians to enter the 
city, but would have utterly destroyed them ; for having shut all 
the little gates that lead down to the river, and mounting the walls 
that extend along the banks of the river, they would have caught 
them as in a net ; whereas the Persians came upon them by sur- 
prise. It is related by the people who inhabited this city, that 



72 HERODOTUS. 

on account of its great extent, when they who were at the extremi- 
ties were taken, those of the Babylonians who inhabited the centre 
knew nothing of the capture (for it happened to be a festival) 
but they were dancing at the time, and enjoying themselves, till 
they received certain information of the truth. Thus was Babylon 
taken for the first time/ 

How great was the power of the Babylonians, I can prove by 
many other circumstances, and especially by the following. The 
whole territory over which the great king reigns, is divided into 
districts for the purpose of furnishing subsistence for him and his 
army, in addition to the usual tribute ; of the twelve months in the 
year, the Babylonian territory provides him with subsistence for 
four, and all the rest of Asia for the remaining eight ; so that the 
territory of Assyria amounts to a third part of the power of all 
Asia, and the government of this region, which the Persians call a 
satrapy, is remunerative ; since it yielded a full artabe of silver 
every day to Tritaschmes son of Artabazus, who held this district 
from the king : the artabe is a Persian measure, containing three 
Attic choenices more than the Attic medimnus [or about twelve 
and a half gallons]. And he had a private stud of horses, in ad- 
dition to those used in war, of eight hundred stallions, and sixteen 
thousand mares. He kept, too, such a number of Indian dogs, that 
four considerable towns in the plain were exempted from all other 
taxes and appointed to find food for the dogs. Such were the ad- 
vantages accruing to the governor of Babylon. The land of As- 
syria is but little watered by rain, only enough in fact to nourish 
the root of the corn ; the stalk grows up, and the grain comes to 
maturity only by being irrigated from the river, not, as in Egypt, 
by the river overflowing the fields, but by the hand and by engines. 
The Babylonian territory, like Egypt, is intersected by canals ; 
and the largest of these is navigable, stretching in the direction of 
the winter sunrise^ ; and it extends from the Euphrates to another 
river, the Tigris, on w^hich the city of Nineveh stood. This 

' It was again taken by Darius ; see end of Llook III. 
"That is, southeast. 



THE CONQUEST OF ASSYRIA. 73 

is, of all lands with which we are acquainted, by far the best for 
the growth of corn : but it does not carry produce trees of any 
kind, either the fig, or the vine, or the olive ; yet it is so fruitful 
in the produce of corn, that it yields continually two hundred-fold, 
and when it produces its best, it yields even three hundred-fold. 
The blades of wheat and barley grow there to fully four fingers 
(three inches) in breadth ; and though I well know to what a height 
millet and sesama grow, I shall not mention it ; for I am well as- 
sured, that to those who have never been in the Babylonian 
country, what has been said concerning its productions will appear 
to many incredible. They use no other oil than such as is drawn 
from ser,:ima. They have palm-trees growing all over the plain ; 
most of these bear fruit from which they make bread, wine, and 
honey. They also tie the fruit of that which the Greeks call the 
male palm, about those trees that bear dates, in order that the fly 
entering the date may ripen it, lest otherwise the fruit may fall be- 
fore maturity ; for the male palms have flies in the fruit, just like 
wild fie-trees. 

The most wonderful thing of all, next to the city itself, is what 
I am now going to describe : their vessels that sail down the river 
to Babylon are circular, and made of leather. For when they have 
cut the ribs out of willows that grow in Armenia above Babylon, 
they cover them with hides extended on the outside, by way of a 
bottom; not making any distinction in the stern, nor contracting 
the prow, but making them circular like a buckler ; then having 
lined this vessel throughout with reeds, they sufler it to be carried 
down by the river freighted with merchandise, chiefly casks of 
palm-wine. The vessel is steered by two spars, held by two men 
standing upright, one of whom draws his spar in and the other 
thrusts his out. Some of these vessels are made very large, and 
others of a smaller size ; but the largest of them carry a cargo of 
five thousand talents [about one hundred and thirty-five tons]. 
Every vessel has a live ass on board, and the larger ones more. 
For after they arrive at Babylon, and have disposed of their freight, 
they sell the ribs of the boat and all the reeds by public auction ; 



74 HERODOTUS. 

then having piled the skins on the asses, they return by land to 
Armenia, for it is not possible by any means to sail up the river 
because of the rapidity of the current : and for this reason they 
make their vessels of skins and not of wood, and upon their return 
to Armenia with their asses, they construct other vessels in the 
same manner. For their dress, they wear a linen tunic that reaches 
down to the feet ; over this they put another garment of wool, and 
over all a short white cloak ; they have sandals peculiar to the 
country, very much like the Boeotian clogs. They wear long hair, 
binding their heads with turbans, and anoint the whole body with 
perfumes. Every man has a seal, and a staff curiously wrought ; 
and on every staff is carved either an apple, a rose, a lily, an eagle, 
or something of the kind ; for it is not allowable to wear a stick 
without a device. 

Many curious customs prevail amongst them. This, in my 
opinion, is the wisest, which I hear the Venetians, of Illyria, also 
practise. Once a year, in every village, whatever maidens are of 
a marriageable age, they collect together and bring in a body to 
one place ; around them gathers a crowd of men. Then a crier 
having made them stand up one by one, offers them for sale, be- 
einninsf with the most beautiful ; and when she has been sold for 
a large sum, he puts up another who is next in beauty. They are 
sold on condition that they shall be married. Such men among 
the Babylonians as are rich and desirous of marrying, bid against 
one another, and purchase the handsomest. But such of the lower 
classes as are desirous of marrying, do not require a beautiful form, 
but are willing to take the plainer damsels wnth a sum of money. 
So when the crier has finished selling the handsomest of the maid- 
ens, he makes the ugliest stand up, or one that is a cripple, and 
puts her up to auction, for the person who will marry her with the 
smallest sum, until she is knocked down to the man who offers to 
take the least. This money is that obtained from the sale of the 
handsome maidens ; so that the beautiful ones portion out the ugly 
and the crippled. A father is not allowed to give his daughter in 
marriage to whom he pleases, nor can a purchaser carry off a 



THE CONQ UES T OF ASS YRIA. 7 5 

maiden without security ; but he is first obliged to give security 
that he will certainly marry her, and then he may take her away. 
If they do not agree, a law has been enacted that the money shall 
be repaid. It is also lawful for any one who pleases to come from 
another village and purchase. They have also this other custom, 
second only to the former in wisdom. They bring their sick to the 
market-place, for they have no physicians ; then those who pass 
by the sick person confer with him about the disease, to discover 
whether they have themselves been afflicted with the same disease, 
or have seen others so afflicted. They then advise him to have 
recourse to the same treatment as that by which they escaped a 
similar disease, or have known to cure others. And no one passes 
by a sick person in silence, without inquiring into the nature of his 
distemper. They embalm their dead in honey, and their funeral 
lamentations are like those of the Egyptians. 

There are three tribes among them that eat nothing but fish ; 
these, when they have taken and dried them in the sun, they treat 
in the following manner : they put them into a mortar, and having 
pounded them with a pestle, sift them through a fine cloth ; then, 
whoever pleases, kneads them into a cake, or bakes them like bread. 

When Cyrus had conquered this nation, he was anxious to re- 
duce the Massagetse to subjection. This nation is said to be both 
powerful and valiant, dwelling toward the east and the rising sun 
beyond the river Araxes, over against the Issedonians ; there are 
some who say that this nation is Scythian. The Araxes is reported 
by some persons to be greater, by others less, than the Ister ; they 
say that there are many islands in it, some nearly equal in size to 
Lesbos ; and that in them are men, who during the summer feed 
upon all manner of roots, which they dig out of the ground ; and 
that they store up for food ripe fruits which they find on the trees, 
and feed upon these during the winter. They add, that they have 
discovered other trees that produce fruit of a peculiar kind, which 
the inhabitants, when they meet together in companies, and have 
lighted a fire, throw on it, as they sit around in a circle ; and that, 
inhaling the fumes of the burning fruit that has been thrown on, 



7 b HERODOTUS. 

they become intoxicated by the odor, just as the Greeks do by 
wine ; and that the more fruit is thrown on, the more intoxicated 
they become, until they rise up to dance and betake themselves to 
sino-in<>-. The river Araxes flows from the Matienian mountains, 
whence also springs the river Gyndes, which Cyrus distributed 
into the three hundred and sixty trenches ; and it gushes out from 
forty springs, all of which, except one, discharge themselves into 
fens and swamps, in which it is said men live who feed on raw fish, 
and clothe themselves in the skins of sea-calves ; but the one stream 
of the Araxes flows through an unobstructed channel into the Cas- 
pian Sea. The Caspian is a sea by itself, having no communication 
with any other sea ; for the whole of that which the Greeks navi- 
gate, and that beyond the Pillars, called the Atlantic, and the Red 
Sea, are all one. But the Caspian is a separate seaof itself ; being 
in length a fifteen-days' voyage for a rowing boat ; and in breadth, 
where it is widest, an eight-days' voyage. On the western shore 
of this sea stretches the Caucasus, which is in extent the largest, 
and in height the loftiest, of all mountains ; it contains within itself 
many various nations of men, who for the most part live upon the 
produce of wild fruit-trees. In this country, it is said, there are 
trees which produce leaves of such a nature, that by rubbing them 
and mixing them with water the people paint figures on their gar- 
ments ; these figures do not wash out, but grow old with the wool, 
as if they had been woven in from the first. East of the Caspian 
is a plain in extent unbounded in the prospect. A great portion 
of this extensive plain is inhabited by the Massagetae, against w4iom 
Cyrus resolved to make war ; for the motives that urged and incited 
him to this enterprise were many and powerful : first of all his 
birth, which he thought was something more than human ; and 
secondly, the good fortune which had attended him in his wars ; 
for wherever Cyrus directed his arms, it was impossible for that 
nation to escape. 

A woman whose husband was dead, was c^ueen of the Massa- 
getae ; her name was Tomyris ; and Cyrus sent ambassadors un- 
der pretence of wooing her, and made her an offer of marriage. 



THE CONQUEST OF ASSYRIA. 7/ 

But Tomyris, being aware that he was not wooing her, but the 
kingdom of the Massagetse, forbade their approach. Upon this Cy- 
rus, perceiving his artifice ineffectual, marched to the Araxes, and 
openly prepared to make war on the Massagetse, by throwing 
bridges over the river, and building turrets on the boats which 
carried over his army. While he was employed in this work 
Tomyris sent a herald to him vyith this message: ''Kino- of the 
Medes, desist from your great exertions ; for you cannot know if 
they will terminate to your advantage ; and having desisted, reio-n 
over your own dominions, and bear to see me governing what is 
mine. But if you will not attend to my advice, and prefer every 
thing before peace ; in a word, if you are very anxious to make 
trial of the Massageta;, toil no longer in throwing a bridge over 
the river ; but do you cross over to our side, while we retire three 
days' march from the river ; or if you had rather receive us on 
your side, do you the like." When Cyrus heard this proposal, he 
called a council of the principal Persians, laid the matter before 
them, and demanded their opinion as to what he should do : they 
unanimously advised him to let Tomyris pass with her army into 
his territory. But Croesus the Lydian, who was present and dis- 
approved this advice, delivered a contrary opinion to that which 
was put forward, and said : " O king, I assured you long ago, that 
since Jupiter delivered me into )our hands, I would to the utmost 
of my power avert whatever misfortune I should see impending 
over your house ; and my own calamities,^ sad as they are, have 
been lessons to me. If }ou think yourself immortal, and that you 
command an army that is so too, it is needless for me to make 
known to you my opinion. But if you know that you too are a 
man, and that you command such as are men, learn this first of all, 
that there is a wheel in human affairs, which, continually revolving, 
does not suffer the same persons to be always successful. My 
opinion touching the matter before us is wholly at variance with 
that already given. For if we shall receive the enemy into this 
country, there is danger that if you are defeated, you will lose, be- 

* These words " pathemata matliemata " seem to have been a proverb in the Greek. 



78 HERODOTUS. 

sides, your whole empire ; for it is plain that if the Massaget^e are 
victorious, they will not flee home again, but will march upon your 
territories : and if you are victorious, your victory is not so com- 
plete as if, having crossed over into their territory, you should con- 
quer the Massagetae and put them to flight ; for then you can 
march directly into the dominions of Tomyris. It is a disgrace too 
that Cyrus the son of Cambyses should give way and retreat be- 
fore a w^oman. My opinion, therefore, is, that you should pass 
over and advance as far as they retire ; and then, by the following 
stratagem, endeavor to get the better of them. I hear the 
Massagetse are unacquainted with the Persian luxuries, and are 
unused to the comforts of life. Suppose then that you cut up and 
dress an abundance of cattle, and lay out a feast in our camp for 
these men ; and besides, bowls of unmixed wine without stint ; then 
leave the weakest part of your army behind, while the rest return 
again toward the river; for the Massagetse, if I mistake not, when 
they see so much excellent fare, will turn to immediately, and after 
that there remains for us the display of mighty achievements." 

Cyrus approved the suggestions of Croesus and bade Tomyris 
retire, as he would cross over to her. She accordingly retired, 
as she had promised. Cyrus placed Croesus in the hands of his 
son Cambyses, to whom he also intrusted the kingdom, and 
having strictly charged him to honor Croesus, and treat him well in 
case his inroad on the Massagetae should fail, sent them back 
to Persia and crossed the river with his army. When he had 
passed the Araxes, and night came on, he saw a vision, as he 
was sleeping in the country of the Massagetze. He fancied that 
he saw the eldest son of Hystaspes with wings on his shoulders ; 
and that with one of these he overshadowed Asia, and with the 
other Europe. Now Darius, who was then about twenty years of 
age, was the eldest son of Hystaspes, son of Arsames, one of the 
Achaemenides ; and he had been left in Persia, for he had not yet 
attained the age of military service. When Cyrus awoke he con- 
sidered his dream with attention ; and as it seemed to him of great 
moment, he summoned Hystaspes, and taking him aside, said : 



THE CONQ UES T OF ASS YRIA. 7 9 

" Hystaspes, your son has been detected plotting- against me and 
mjy empire ; and I will show )'ou how I know it for a certainty. 
The gods watch over me and forewarn me of every thing that is 
about to befall me. Now, last night, as I was sleeping, I saw the 
eldest of your sons with wings on his shoulders, and with one 
of these he overshadowed Asia, and Europe with the other ; from 
this vision, it cannot be otherwise than that your son is formino- 
designs against me ; do you therefore go back to Persia with all 
speed, and take care, that when I have conquered these people 
and return home, you bring your son before me to be examined." 
Cyrus spoke thus under a persuasion that Darius was plotting 
against him ; but the deity forewarned him that he himself would die 
in that very expedition, and that his kingdom would devolve on 
Darius. Hystaspes, however, answered in these words : " God 
forbid, O king, that a Persian should be born who would plot 
against you ! But if any such there be, may sudden destruction 
overtake him, for you have made the Persians free instead of being 
slaves, and instead of being ruled over by others to rule over all ; 
but if any vision informs you that my son is forming any plot 
against you, I freely surrender him to you to deal with as you 
please." And Hystaspes repassed the Araxes and went to Persia, 
for the purpose of keeping his son Darius in custody for Cyrus. 

Cyrus having advanced one day's march from the Araxes, pro- 
ceeded to act accordinor to the sufjorestion of Croesus. After this, 
when Cyrus and the effective part of the Persian army had marched 
back to the Araxes, leaving the ineffective part behind, a third 
division of the army of the Massagetae attacked those of Cyrus' 
forces that had been left behind, and, after some resistance, put 
them to death. Then, seeing the feast laid out, as soon as they had 
overcome their enemies they lay down and feasted ; and being 
filled with food and wine, fell asleep. Then the Persians attacked 
them, and put many of them to death, and took a still greater 
number prisoners, among them the son of Queen Tomyris, who 
commanded the Massagetae, and whose name was Spargapises. 
When she heard what had befallen her army and her son, she sent 



So 



HERODOTUS. 



a herald to Cyrus with the following message : " Cyrus, insatiate 
with blood, be not elated with what has now happened, that by the 
fruit of the vine, with which ye yourselves, when filled with it, so 
rave, that when it descends into your bodies, evil words float on 
your lips ; be not elated, that by such a poison you have deceived 
and conquered my son, instead of by prowess in battle. But take 
the good advice that I offer you. Restore my son ; depart out of 
this country unpunished for having insolently disgraced a third 
division of the army of the Massagetse. But if you will not do this, 
I swear by the sun, the Lord of the Massagetae, that, insatiable as 
you are, I will glut you with blood." Cyrus, however, paid no at- 
tention to this message ; but Spargapises, the son of Queen 




SEPULCHRAL VASES. 



Tomyris, as soon as he recovered from the effects of the wine, and 
'perceived in what a plight he was, begged of Cyrus that he might 
be freed from his fetters ; and as soon as he was set free, and 
found his hands at liberty, he put himself to death. But Tomyris, 
finding Cyrus did not listen to her, assembled all her forces, and 
enea^ed with him. I think that this battle was the most obstinate 
that was ever fought between barbarians. First of all, they stood 
at a distance and used their bows; afterward, when they had emptied 
their quivers, they engaged in close fight with their swords and 
spears, and thus they continued fighting for a long time, and 
neither was willing to give way; but at length the Massagetse got 



THE CONQUEST OF ASSYRIA. 8 1 

the better, and the greater part of the Persian army was cut in 
pieces on the spot, and Cyrus himself was killed, after he had 
reigned twenty-nine years. Tomyris filled a skin with human 
blood, sought for the body of Cyrus among the slain of the Persians, 
and, thrust the head into the skin, and insulting the dead body, 
said : " Thou hast indeed ruined me though alive and victorious in 
battle, since thou hast taken my son by stratagem ; but I will now 
glut thee with blood, as I threatened." Of the many accounts given 
of the end of Cyrus, this appears to me most worthy of credit. 

The Massagetse resemble the Scythians in their dress and mode 
of living ; they have both horse and foot bow-men, and javelin- 
men, who are accustomed to carry battle-axes : they use gold and 
bronze for every thing ; for in whatever concerns spears, and 
arrow-points, and battle-axes, they use bronze ; but the head, and 
belts, and shoulder-pieces, are ornamented with gold. In like man- 
ner with regard to the chest of horses, they put on breastplates of 
bronze ; but the bridle-bit and cheek-pieces are ornamented with 
gold. They make no use of silver or iron, for neither of those 
metals are found in their country, but they have bronze and gold 
in abundance. Their manners are as follows : when a man has 
attained a great age, all his kinsmen meet, and sacrifice him, to- 
gether with cattle of several kinds ; and when they have boiled the 
flesh, they feast on it. This death they account the most happy ; 
but they do not eat the bodies of those who die of disease ; but 
bury them in the earth, and think it a great misfortune that they 
did not reach the age to be sacrificed. They sow nothing, but live 
on cattle, and fish which the river Araxes yields in abundance, and 
they are drinkers of milk. They worship the sun only of all the 
gods, and sacrifice horses to him ; and they assign as the reason 
of this custom that they think it right to offer the swiftest of all 
animals to the swiftest of all the grods. 






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BOOK II. EUTERPE. 



CHAPTER I. 

PHYSICAL HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

After the death of Cyrus, Cambyses succeeded to the kingdom. 
He was son of Cyrus, and Cassandane the daughter of Pharnaspes ; 
she having died some time before, Cyrus deeply mourned for her 
himself, and commanded all his subjects to mourn. Cambyses 
then considered the lonians and yEolians as his hereditary slaves, 
and when he made an expedition against Egypt, he took with him 
some of the Greeks over whom he bore rule. 

The Egyptians, before the reign of Psammitichus, considered 
themselves to be the most ancient of mankind. But after Psammiti- 
chus came to the throne, he endeavored to ascertain who really were 
the most ancient, and from that time they have considered the 
Phrygians to have been an older race than themselves. When 
Psammitichus was unable, by inquiry, to discover any solution of 
the question, who were the most ancient of men, he devised this 
expedient. He gave two new-born children of poor parents to a 
shepherd, to be brought up among his flocks, with strict orders that 
no one should utter a word in their presence, that they should lie 
in a solitary room by themselves, and that the shepherd should 
bring goats' milk to them at certain times, and listen to discover 
what word the children would first articulate, after they had given 
over their insignificant mewlings. When the shepherd had pursued 
this plan for the space of two years, one day as he opened the door 
and went in, both the children fell upon him, and holding out their 
hands, cried " Becos." At first the shepherd said nothing ; but as 



84 HERODOTUS. 

this same word was repeated to him whenever he went and tended 
the children, he at length acquainted his master, and by his com- 
mand brought the children into his presence. When Psammitichus 
heard it he inquired what people call any thing by the name of 
" Becos " ; and discovered that the Phrygians call bread by that 
name. So the Egyptians, convinced by the experiment, allowed 
that the Phrygians were more ancient than themselves. This re- 
lation I had from the priests of Vulcan at Memphis. But the 
Greeks tell many other foolish things, among them, that Psammiti- 
chus, having had the tongues of some women cut out, had the 
children brought up by them. 

The Egyptians were the first to discover the year, which they 
divided into twelve parts, making this discovery from the stars ; 
and so, I think, they act more wisely than the Greeks, who insert 
an intercalary month every third year, on account of the seasons ; 
while the Egyptians, reckoning twelve months of thirty days each, 
add five days each year above that number, so that the circle of 
the seasons comep round to the same point. They say also, 
that the Egyptians were the first who introduced the names of the 
twelve gods, and that the Greeks borrowed those names from 
them ; that they were the first to assign altars, images, and temples 
to the gods, and to carve the figures of animals on stone. They 
add that Menes was the first mortal who reigned over Egypt, and 
that in his time all Egypt, except the district of Thebes, was a 
morass, and that no part of the land that now exists below Lake 
Myris was then above water ; to this place from the sea is a seven- 
days' passage up the river. It is evident to a man of common un- 
derstanding, who sees it, that the part of Egypt which the Greeks 
frequent with their shipping, is land reclaimed by the Egyptians, 
and a gift from the river ; for when you are at the distance of a day's 
sail from land, if you cast the lead you will bring up mud, yet find 
yourself in eleven fathoms of water ; showing the immense allu- 
vial deposit. 

The length of Egypt along the sea-coast is sixty schoeni (45o 
miles) from the Plinthinetic Bay to Lake Serbonis, near which 



i|f![ll'l 




86 HERODOTUS. 

Mount Casius stretches. Men who are short of land measure their 
territory by fathoms ; those who have some possessions, by stades ; 
those who have much, by parasangs ; and such as have a very 
great extent, by schccni. A parasang is equal to thirty stades, 
and each schoenus, which is an Egyptian measure, is equal to sixty 
stades. So the whole coast of Egypt is three thousand six hundred 
stades in length. As far as Heliopolis, inland, Egypt is wide, flat, 
without water, and a swamp. The distance to Heliopolis, as one 
goes up from the sea, is about equal in length to the road from 
Athens — that is to say, from the altar of the twelve gods, — to Pisa 
and the temple of Olympian Jupiter, or about fifteen hundred stades. 
From Heliopolis upward Egypt is narrow, for on one side the 
table-land of Arabia extends from north to south and southwest, 
stretching up continuously to that which is called the Red Sea. In 
this plateau are the stone quarries w^hich were cut for the pyramids 
at Memphis. Where its length is the greatest, I have heard that 
it is a two-months' journey from east to west ; and that eastward its 
confines produce frankincense. On that side of Egypt which 
borders upon Libya extends another rocky table-land covered with 
sand, on which the pyramids stand, stretching in the same direction 
as that part of the Arabian mountain that runs southward. 

The greater part of all this country, as the priests informed me, 
has been reclaimed by the Egyptians from the sea and the marshes. 
For the space beyond the city of Memphis seems to me to have been 
formerly a bay of the sea ; as is the case also with the parts about 
Ilium, Teuthrania, Ephesus, and the plain of the Mseander, if I 
may be permitted to compare small things with great. There are 
other rivers not equal in size to the Nile, which have wrought 
great works ; amongst them one of the most remarkable is the 
Achelou?, which, flowing through Acarnania, and falling into the 
sea, has already converted one half of the Echinades islands into 
a continent. There is in the Arabian territory, not far from Egypt, 
branching from the Red Sea, a bay of the sea of such a length 
that the voyage, from the innermost part of this bay to the broad 
sea, occupies forty days for a vessel with oars ; but the width, 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF EGYPT. 87 

where the bay is widest, only half a day's passage, and in it an 
ebb and flow takes place daily ; and I am of opinion that Egypt 
was formerly a similar bay ; this stretching from the Northern Sea 
toward Ethiopia ; and the Arabian Bay, which I am describing, 
from the south toward Syria ; and that they almost perforated 
their recesses so as to meet each other, overlapping to some small 
extent. Now, if the Nile were to turn its stream into this Arabian 
gulf, what could hinder it from being filled with soil by the river 
within twenty thousand years? — for my part, I think it would be filled 
within ten thousand. How, then, in the time that has elapsed be- 
fore I was born, might not even a much greater bay than this have 
been filled up by such a great and powerful river ? I therefore 
give credit to those who relate these things concerning Egypt, 
when I see that Egypt projects beyond the adjoining land ; that 
shells are found on the mountains ; that a saline humor forms on 
the surface so as even to corrode the pyramids ; and that this 
mountain which is above Memphis is the only one in Egypt that 
abounds in sand : add to which, that Egypt, in its soil, is neither 
like Arabia or its confines, nor Libya, nor Syria, but is black and 
crumbling, as if it were mud and alluvial deposit, brought down by 
the river from Ethiopia ; whereas we know that the earth of Libya 
is reddish, and somewhat more sandy ; and that of Arabia and 
Syria is clayey and flinty. 

The priests relate that in the reign of Moeris, when the river 
rose at least eight cubits, it irrigated all Egypt below Memphis ; 
and yet Moeris had not been nine hundred years dead when I re- 
ceived this information. But now, unless the river rises sixteen 
cubits, or fifteen at least, it does not overflow the country. It ap- 
pears to me, therefore, that if the soil continues to grow in height, 
in the same proportion, those Egyptians below Lake Moeris, who 
inhabit other districts than that which is called Delta, must, by rea- 
son of the Nile not overflowing their land, for ever suffer the same 
calamity which they used to say the Greeks would suffer from. 
For hearing that all the lands of Greece were watered by rain, and 
not by rivers, as their own was, they said " that the Greeks at 



88 HERODOTUS. 

some time or other would suffer miserably from famine." But 
let me state how the matter stands with the Egyptians themselves : 
if, as I said before, the land below Memphis should continue to in- 
crease in height in the same proportion as it has done in time past, 
what else will happen but that the Egyptians who inhabit this part 
will starve, if their land shall neither be watered by rain, nor the 
river be able to inundate the fields ? Now, indeed, they gather in 
the fruits of the earth with less labor than any other people, for 
they have not the toil of breaking up the furrows with the plough, 
nor of hoeing, nor of any other work which all other men must 
labor at to obtain a crop of corn ; but when the river has come of 
its own accord and irrigated their fields, and again subsided, then 
each man sows his own land and turns swine into it ; and when 
the seed has been trodden in by the swine, he waits for harvest- 
time ; then he treads out the corn with his swine, and gathers it in. 

All Egypt, beginning from the cataracts and the city of Ele- 
phantine, is divided into two parts, and partakes of both names ; 
one belongs to Libya, and the other to Asia. The Nile, beginning 
from the cataracts, flows to the sea, dividing Egypt in the middle. 
Now, as far as the city of Cercasorus, the Nile flows in one stream ; 
but from that point it is divided into three channels. That which 
runs eastward is called the Pelusiac mouth ; another of the channels 
bends westward, and is called the Canopic mouth ; but the direct 
channel of the Nile is the following : descending from above, it 
comes to the point of the Delta, where it divides the Delta in the 
middle, and discharges itself into the sea, supplying by this channel, 
not by any means the least quantity of water, nor the least renowned ; 
this is called the Sebennytic mouth. There are also two other 
mouths, that diverge from the Sebennytic and flow into the 
sea, — the Saitic, and the Mendesian. The Bolbitine and Bucolic 
mouths are not natural, but artificial. The Nile, when full, inun- 
dates not only Delta, but also part of the country said to bclongto 
Libya and Arabia, to the extent of about two days' journey on 
each side. 

At the summer solstice it fills and overflows for a hundred days ; 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF EGYPT. 



89 



then falls short in its stream, and retires ; so that it continues low 
all the winter, until the return of the summer solstice. In parts of 
Ethiopia, out of which the Nile flows, the inhabitants become black 
from the excessive heat ; kites and swallows continue there all the 
year; and the cranes, to avoid the cold of Scythia, migrate to these 
parts as winter-quarters. 

With respect to the sources of the Nile, no man of all the 
Egyptians, Libyans, or Greeks with whom I have conversed, ever 
pretended to know any thing ; except the registrar of Minerva's 
treasury at Sais in Egypt. But even he seemed to be trifling with 
me, when he said he knew perfectly well. His account was : 
" That there are two mountains rising into a sharp peak, situated 




NILE BOAT. 



between the cities of Syene and Elephantine ; the names of these 
mountains are Crophi and Mophi. The sources of the Nile, which 
are bottomless, flow from between these mountains, and half of 
the water flows north over Egypt, and the other half to the south- 
ward over Ethiopia. That the fountains of the Nile are bottom- 
less, he said, Psammitichus, king of Egypt, proved by experiment ; 
for he twisted a line many thousand fathoms in length and let it 
down, but could not find a bottom." In my opinion, this simply 
proves that there are strong whirlpools and an eddy here ; so that 
the water beating against the rocks, a sounding-line, when let 
down, cannot reach the bottom. As you ascend the river above 
the city of Elephantine, the country is so steep that it is necessary 
to attach a rope on both sides of a boat as you do with an ox in a 
plough, and so proceed ; but if the rope should happen to break, 



90 HERODOTUS. 

the boat is carried away by the force of the stream. This kind of 
country lasts for a four-days' passage (or eighty miles), and the 
Nile here winds as much as the Mseander. After that you come to 
a level plain, where the Nile flows round an island named Tach- 
ompso, Ethiopians inhabit the country immediately above Ele- 
phantine, and one half of the island ; the other half is inhabited by 
Egyptians. Near to this island lies a vast lake, on the borders of 
which Ethiopian nomads dwell ; after sailing through this lake, 
you come to the channel of the Nile, which flows into it : then you 
have to land and travel forty days by the side of the river, for 
sharp rocks rise in the Nile, and there are many sunken ones, 
through which it is not possible to navigate a boat ; you then must 
go on board another boat, and sail for twelve days ; and will at 
last arrive at a large city called Meroe : this city is said to be the 
capital of all Ethiopia. The inhabitants worship no other gods 
than Jupiter and Bacchus ; but these they honor with great mag- 
nificence ; they have also an oracle of Jupiter ; and they make war, 
whenever that god bids them by an oracular warning, and against 
whatever country he bids them. Sailing from this city, you will 
arrive at the country of the Automoli, in a space of time equal to 
that which you took in coming from Elephantine to the capital of 
the Ethiopians. These Automoli are called by the name of Asmak, 
which in the language of Greece signifies, "those that stand at the 
left hand of the king." These, to the number of two hundred and 
forty thousand of the Egyptian war-tribe, once revolted to the 
Ethiopians, whose king made them the following recompense. 
There were certain Ethiopians disaffected toward him ; he bade 
them expel these, and take possession of their land ; by the settle- 
ment of these men among them, the Ethiopians became more civi- 
lized, and learned the manners of the Egyptians. 



CHAPTER II. 

RELIGION, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, DRESS, AND ANIMALS OF THE 

EGYPTIANS. 

Egypt possesses more wonders than any other country, and ex- 
hibits works greater than can be described, in comparison with all 
other regions ; therefore more must be said about it. The Egyp- 
tians besides having a peculiar climate and a river differing in 
its nature from all other rivers, have adopted customs and usages 
in almost every respect different from the rest of mankind. 
Amongst them the women attend markets and traffic, but the men 
stay at home and weave. Other nations, in weaving, throw 
the wool upward ; the Egyptians, downward. The men carry 
burdens on their heads ; the women, on their shoulders. No 
woman can serve the office for any god or goddess ; but men are 
employed for both offices. Sons are not compelled to support 
their parents unless they choose, but daughters are compelled 
to do so, whether they choose or not. In other countries the 
priests of the gods wear long hair ; in Egypt they have it shaved. 
With other men it is customary in mourning for the nearest rela- 
tions to have their heads shorn ; the Egyptians, on occasions 
of death, let the hair grow both on the head and face, though till 
then shaven. Other men feed on wheat and barley, but it is 
a very great disgrace for an Egyptian to make food of them ; but 
they make bread from spelt, which some call zea. They knead the 
dough with their feet ; but mix clay with their hands. Every 
man wears two garments ; the women, but one. Other men 
fasten the rings and sheets of their sails outside ; but the Egyp- 
tians, inside. The Greeks write and cipher, moving the hand from 
left to right ; but the Egyptians, from right to left : and doing 



92 HERODOTUS. 

so, they say they do it right-ways, and the Greeks left-ways. 
They have two sorts of letters, one of which is called sacred, the 
other common. 

They are of all men the most excessively attentive to the wor- 
ship of the gods, and observe the following ceremonies : They 
drink from cups of bronze, which they scour every day. They 
wear linen garments, constantly fresh-washed, thinking it better to 
be clean than handsome. The priests shave their whole body 
every third day, that no impurity may be found upon them when 
engaged in the service of the gods. The priests wear linen only, 
and shoes of byblus, and are not permitted to wear any other 
garments, or other shoes. They wash themselves in cold water 
twice every day and twice every night, and use a great number of 
ceremonies. On the other hand, they enjoy no slight advantages, 
for they do not consume or expend any of their private property ; 
but sacred food is cooked for them, and a great quantity of beef 
and geese is allowed each of them every day, with wine from the 
grape ; but they must not taste of fish. Beans the Egyptians do 
not sow at all in their country, nor do they eat those that happen 
to grow there. The priests abhor the sight of that pulse, account- 
ing it impure. The service of each god is performed, not by one, 
but by many priests, of whom one is chief; and, when one of 
them dies, his son is put in his place. The male kine they deem 
sacred to Epaphus, and to that end prove them in the following 
manner: If the examiner finds one black hair upon him, he 
adjudges him to be unclean ; one of the priests appointed for this 
purpose makes this examination, both when the animal is standing 
up and lying down ; and he draws out the tongue, to see if it is 
pure as to the prescribed marks, which I shall mention in another 
part of my history. He also looks at the hairs of his tail, to see 
whether they grow naturally. If the beast is found pure in all 
these respects, he marks it by rolling a piece of byblus round the 
horns, and then having put on it some sealing earth, he impresses 
it with his signet ; and so they drive him away. Any one who 
sacrifices one that is unmarked is punished with death. The 



CUSTOMS OF THE EGYPTIANS. 93 

established mode of sacrifice is this : they lead the victim, properly 

marked, to the altar where they intend to sacrifice, and kindle a 

fire ; then having poured wine upon the altar, near the victim, 

they invoke the god, and kill it ; then cut off the head, and flay 

the body of the animal. Having pronounced many imprecations 

on the head, they who have a market and Greek merchants 

dwelling amongst them, carry it there and sell it ; but those who 

have no Greeks amongst them throw it into the river; and they 

pronounce the following imprecations on the head : "If any evil 

is about to befall either those that now sacrifice, or Egypt in 

general, may it be averted on this head." But a different mode 

of disembowelling and burning the victims prevails in different 

sacrifices. The practice with regard to the goddess whom they 

consider the greatest, and in whose honor they celebrate the most 

magnificent festival, is this : When they have flayed the bullocks, 

having first offered up prayers, they take out all the intestines, and 

leave the vitals with the fat in the carcass : they then cut off the 

legs and the extremity of the hip, with the shoulders and neck, 

and fill the body of the bullock with fine bread, honey, raisins, 

figs, frankincense, myrrh, and other perfumes, and burn it, pouring 

on it a great quantity of oil. They sacrifice after they have 

fasted ; and while the sacred things are being burnt, they all beat 

themselves ; after which they spread a banquet of what remains of 

the victims. 

All the Egyptians sacrifice the pure male kine and calves, but 
they are not allowed to sacrifice the females, for they are sacred 
to Isis ; the image of Isis is made in the form of a woman with the 
horns of a cow, as the Greeks represent lo ; and all Egyptians 
alike pay a far greater reverence to cows than to any other cattle. 
No Egyptian man or woman will kiss a Greek on the mouth; 
or use the knife, spit, or cauldron of a Greek, or taste of 
the flesh of a pure ox that has been divided by a Greek 
knife. They bury the kine that die in the following manner: 
The females they throw into the river, and the males they 
inter in the suburbs, with one horn, or both, appearing above the 



94 HERODOTUS. 

orround, for a mark. When it is putrified, and the appointed time 
arrives, a raft comes to each city from the island called Prosopitis, 
in the Delta, which is nine schoeni in circumference. Now in this 
island Prosopitis there are several cities ; but that from which the 
rafts come to take away the bones of the oxen, is called Atar- 
bechis ; in it a temple of Venus has been erected. From this city 
then many persons go about to otl^er towns ; and having dug up 
the bones, carry them away, and bury them in one place ; and* 
they bury all other cattle that die in the same way that they do 
the oxen ; for they do not kill any of them. All those who have 
a temple erected to Theban Jupiter, or belong to the Theban dis- 
trict, abstain from sheep, and sacrifice goats only. For the Egyp- 
tians do not all worship the same gods in the same manner, except 
Isis and Osiris, who, they say, is Bacchus. On the other hand, 
those who frequent the temple of Mendes, and belong to the Men- 
desian district, abstain from goats, and sacrifice sheep. The 
Thebans say that this custom was established among them in the 
following way : that Hercules was very desirous of seeing Jupiter, 
but Jupiter was unwilling to be seen by him ; at last, however, as 
Hercules persisted, Jupiter flayed a ram, cut off the head, and held 
it before himself, and then having put on the fleece, showed him- 
self to Hercules. From this circumstance the Egyptians make 
the image of Jupiter with a ram's face ; and the Ammonians, who 
are a colony of Egyptians and Ethiopians, and who speak a lan- 
guage between both, have adopted the same practice ; and, as I 
conjecture, the Ammonians thus derived their name, for the Egyp- 
tians call Jupiter, Ammon. The Thebans then do not sacrifice 
rams, being for this reason accounted sacred by them ; on one day 
in the year, however, at the festival of Jupiter, they kill and flay 
one ram, put it on this image of Jupiter, and bring an image of 
Hercules to it ; then all who are in the temple beat themselves in 
mourning for the ram, and bury him in a sacred vault. 

Of this Hercules I have heard that he is one of the twelve 
gods ; but of the other Hercules, who is known to the Greeks, I 
could never hear in any part of Egypt. That the Egyptians did 



CUSTOMS OF THE EGYPTIANS. 95 

not derive the name of Hercules from the Greeks, but rather the 
Greeks from the Egyptians, I have many proofs to show. The 
parents of this Hercules, Amphitryon and Alcmene, were both of 
Egyptian descent, and the Egyptians say they do not know the 
names of Neptune and the Dioscuri, yet if they had derived the 
name of any deity from the Greeks, they would certainly have 
mentioned these above all others, since even at that time they 
made voyages, and some ot the Greeks were sailors. But Her- 
cules is one of the ancient gods of the Egyptians ; and they say 
themselves it was seventeen thousand years before the reign of 
Amasis, when the number of their orods was increased from eieht 
to twelve, of whom Hercules was accounted one. Beinof desirous 
of obtaining certain information from whatever source I could, I 
sailed to Tyre in Phoenicia, having heard that there was there a 
temple dedicated to Hercules; and I saw it richly adorned with a 
great variety of offerings, and in it were two pillars, one of fine 
gold, the other of emerald stone, both shining exceedingly at night. 
Conversing with the priests of this god, I inquired how long this 
temple had been built, and I found that they did not agree with 
the Greeks. For they said that the temple was built at the time 
when Tyre was founded, and that two thousand three hundred 
years had elapsed since the foundation of Tyre. In this city I also 
saw another temple dedicated to Hercules by the name of Thasian; 
I went therefore to Thasos, and found there a temple of Hercules 
built by the Phoenicians, who founded Thasos, when they sailed in 
search of Europa, and this occurred five generations before Her- 
cules the son of Amphitryon appeared in Greece. The researches 
then that I have made evidently prove that Hercules is a god of 
great antiquity, and therefore those Greeks appear to me to have 
acted most correctly, who have built two kinds of temples sacred 
to Hercules, and who sacrifice to one as an immortal, under the 
name of Olympian, and paid honor to the other as a hero. The 
Mendeslans pay reverence to all goats ; at the death of a he-goat 
public mourning is observed throughout the whole Mendesian dis- 
trict. 



96 HERODOTUS. 

The Egyptians consider the pig to be an impure beast, and 
therefore if a man in passing by a pig should touch him only with 
his garments, he forthwith goes to the river and plunges in ; and 
in the next place, swineherds, although native Egyptians, are the 
only men who are not allowed to enter any of their temples ; 
neither will any man give his daughter in marriage to one of them, 
nor take a wife from among them; but the swineherds intermarry 
among themselves. The Egyptians do not think it right to sacri- 
fice swine to any deities but the moon and Bacchus. In this sac- 
rifice of pigs to the moon, when the sacrificer has slain the victim, 
he puts together the tip of the tail, with the spleen and the caul, 
covers them with the fat found about the belly of the animal, and 
consumes them wath fire : the rest of the flesh they eat during the 
full moon in which they offer the sacrifices ; but on no other day 
would any one even taste it. The poor amongst them, through 
want of means, form pigs of dough, and having baked them, offer 
them in sacrifice. 

Whence each of the gods sprung, whether they existed always, 
and of what form they were, was, so to speak, unknown till yester- 
day. For I am of opinion that Hesiod and Homer lived four hun- 
dred years before my time, and not more, and these were they who 
framed a theogony for the Greeks, and gave names to the gods, and 
assigned to them honors and arts, and declared their several forms. 

The Egyptians were also the first who introduced public festi- 
vals, processions, and solemn supplications ; and the Greeks learned 
these from them. The Egyptians hold public festivals several times 
in a year ; that which is best and most rigidly observed is in 
the city of Bubastis, in honor of Diana ; the second, in the city of 
Busiris, is in honor of Isis ; the largest temple of Isis is in this city, 
in the middle of the Egyptian Delta. Isis is in the Grecian language 
called Demeter. The third festival is held at Sais, in honor of 
Minerva ; the fourth, at Heliopolis, in honor of the sun ; the fifth, 
at the city of Buto, in honor of Latona ; the sixth, at the city of 
Papremis, in honor of Mars. When they are assembled at the 
sacrifice, in the city of Sais, they all on a certain night kindle a 



CUSTOMS OF THE EGYPTIANS. 97 

great number of lamps in the open air, around their houses ; the 
lamps are flat vessels filled with salt and oil, the wick floats on the 
surface and burns all night ; hence the festival is named " the 
lighting of lamps." Hie Egyptians who do not come to this public 
assembly observe the rite of sacrifice, and all kindle lamps, not 
, only in Sals, but throughout all Egypt. 

Egypt, though bordering on Libya, does not abound in wild 
beasts ; but all that they have are accounted sacred. Superintend- 
ents, consisting both of men and women, are appointed to feed 
every kind separately ; and the son succeeds the father in 
this office. All the inhabitants of the cities perform their vows to 
the superintendents. Having made a vow to the god to whom 
the animal belongs, they shave either the whole heads of 
their children, or a half, or a third part of the head, and then weigh 
the hair in a scale against silver, and whatever the weight may be, 
they give to the superintendent of the animals ; she in return 
cuts up some fish,, and gives it as food to the animals ; such is the 
usual mode of feeding them. Should any one kill one of 
these beasts, if wilfully, death is the punishment ; if by accident, he 
pays such fine as the priests choose to impose. But whoever kills 
an ibis or a hawk, whether wilfully or by accident, must necessa- 
rily be put to death. When a conflagration takes place, a super- 
natural impulse seizes on the cats. The Egyptians, standing 
at a distance, take care of the cats, and neglect to put out the fire ; 
but the cats often make their escape, leap over the men, and throw 
themselves into the fire ; when this happens great lamenta- 
tions are made among the Egyptians. In whatever house a cat 
dies of a natural death, all the family shave their eyebrows ; but if 
a dog die, they shave the whole body and the head. All cats 
that die are carried to certain sacred houses, where they are first 
embalmed, and then buried in the city of Bubastis. All persons 
bury their dogs in sacred vaults within their own city; and 
ichneumons are buried in the same manner as the dogs ; but 
field-mice and hawks they carry to the city of Buto ; the ibis 
to Hermopolis ; the bears, which are few in number, and 



98 HERODOTUS. 

the wolves, which are not much larger than foxes, they bury 
wherever they are found lying. 

This is the nature of the crocodile : — Durinsf the four coldest 
months it eats nothing, and though it has four feet, it is amphibi- 
ous. It lays its eggs on land, and there hatches them. It spends 
the greater part of the day on the dry ground, but the whole 
night in tlie river ; for the water is then warmer than the air and 
dew. Of all living things with which w^e are acquainted, this, from 
the least beginning, grows to be the largest. For it lays eggs little 
larger than those of a goose, and the young is at first in proportion 
to the ^^<g ; but when grown up it reaches to the length of seven- 
teen cubits (25^- feet), and even more. It has the eyes of a 
pig, large teeth, and projecting tusks : it is the only animal that 
has no tongue : it does not move the lower jaw, but is the only 




THE TROCHILUS. 



animal that brings down its upper jaw to the under one. It has 
strong claws, and a skin covered with scales, that cannot be broken 
on the back. It is blind in the water, but very quick-sighted on 
land ; and because it lives for the most part in the water, 
its mouth is filled with leeches. All other birds and beasts 
avoid him, but he is at peace with the trochilus, because he 
receives benefit from that bird. For when the crocodile gets out 
of the water on land, and then opens its jaws, which it does most 
commonly toward the west, the trochilus enters its mouth and 
swallows the leeches : the crocodile is so well pleased with this 
service that it never hurts the trochilus. With some of the Egyp- 
tians crocodiles are sacred ; with others not, but they treat them as 
enemies. Those who dwell about Thebes, and Lake Mceris con- 



CUSTOMS OF THE EGYPTIANS. 



99 



sider them to be very sacred ; and they each of them train up a 
crocodile, which is taught to be quite tame ; and put crystal and 
gold ear-rings into their ears, and bracelets on their fore paws'; 
they give them appointed and sacred food, and treat them as well 
as possible while alive, and when dead they embalm them, and 
bury them in sacred vaults. But the people who dwell about the 
city of Elephantine eat them, not considering them sacred. They 
are not called crocodiles by the Egyptians, but " champsae " ; the 
lonians gave them the name of crocodiles, because they thought 
they resembled lizards, which are also so called, and which are 
found in the hedges of their country. The modes of taking the 
crocodile are many and various, but I shall only describe that 




SPEARING THE CROCODILE. 



which seems to me most worthy of relation. When the fisherman 
has baited a hook with the chine of a pig, he lets it down into the 
middle of the river, and holding a young live pig on the brink of 
the river, beats it ; the crocodile, hearing the noise, goes in its 
direction, and meeting with the chine, swallows it, and the men 
draw it to land ; when it is drawn out on shore, the sportsman first 
of all plasters its eyes with mud, after which he manages it very 
easily ; but until he has done this, he has a great deal of trouble. 
The hippopotamus is esteemed sacred in the district of Papremis, but 
not so by the rest of the Egyptians. It is a quadruped, cloven- 
footed, with the hoofs of an ox, snub-nosed, has the mane of a 
horse, projecting tusks, and the tail and neigh of a horse. In size 



lOO HERODOTUS. 

he is equal to a very large ox : his hide is so thick that spear- 
handles are made of it when dry. Otters are also met with in the 
river, which are deemed sacred ; and amongst fish, they consider 
that which is called the lepidotus, and the eel, sacred ; these they 
say are sacred to the Nile ; and among birds, the vulpanser. 

There is also another sacred bird, called the phoenix, which I 
have never seen except in a picture ; for it makes its appearance 
amongst them only once in five hundred years, as the Heliopolitans 
affirm : they say that it comes on the death of its sire. If he is 
like the picture, he is of the following size and description : the 
plumage of his wings is partly golden-colored, and partly red ; in 
outline and size he is like an eagle. They tell this incredible story 
about him : — They say that he comes from Arabia, and brings the 
body of his father, enclosed in myrrh, to the temple of the sun, and 
there buries him in the temple. He brings him in this manner : 
first he moulds an ^^<g of myrrh as large as he thinks himself able 
to carry ; then he tries to carry it, and when he has made the ex- 
periment, he hollows out the ^^^i puts his parent into it, and stops 
up with some more myrrh the hole through which he introduced the 
body, so when his father is put inside, the weight is the same as 
before ; then he carries him to the temple of the sun in Egypt. 

In the neighborhood of Thebes there are sacred serpents not at 
all hurtful to men : they are diminutive in size, and carry two 
horns that grow on the top of the head. When these serpents die 
they bury them in the temple of Jupiter, for they say they are 
sacred to that God. There is a place in Arabia, situated very near 
the city of Buto, to which I went, on hearing of some winged ser- 
pents ; there I saw bones and spines of serpents in such quantities 
as it would be impossible to describe : there were heaps upon 
heaps, some large, some smaller, scattered in a narrow pass be- 
tween two mountains, w^hich leads into a spacious plain, contiguous 
to the plain of Egypt : it is reported that at the beginning of spring, 
winged serpents fly from Arabia toward Egypt ; but that ibises, a 
sort of bird, meet them at the pass, and do not allow the serpents 
to go by, but kill them : for this service the Arabians say that the 



CUSTOMS OF THE EGYPTIANS. lOI 

ibis is highly reverenced by the Egyptians ; and the Egyptians 
acknowledge it. The ibis is all over a deep black ; it has the legs 
of a crane, its beak is much curved, and it is about the size of the 
crex. Such is the form of the black ones, that fight with the ser- 
pents. But those that are best known, for there are two species, 
are bare on the head and the whole neck, have white plumage, 
except on the head, the throat, and the tips of the wings and ex- 
tremity of the tail ; in all these parts they are of a deep black ; in 
their legs and beak they are like the other kind. The form of the 
serpent is like that of the water-snake ; but he has wings without 
feathers, and as like as possible to the wings of a bat. This must 
suffice for the description of sacred animals. 

Of the Egyptians, those who inhabit that part of Egypt which 
is sown with corn, cultivate the memory of past events more than 
any other people, and are the best-informed men I ever met. 
Their manner of life is this : They purge themselves every month 
for three days successively, seeking to preserve health by emetics 
and clysters, for they suppose that all diseases to which men are 
subject proceed from the food they use. And indeed in other 
respects the Egyptians, next to the Libyans, are the most healthy 
people in the world, as I think, on account of the seasons, because 
they are not liable to change ; for men are most subject to disease 
at periods of change, and above all others at the change of the 
seasons. They feed on bread made into loaves of spelt, which 
they call cyllestis ; and they use wine made of barley, for they 
have no vines in that country. Some fish they dry in the sun and 
eat raw, others salted with brine ; and of birds they eat quail, 
ducks, and smaller birds raw, salting them first. All other things, 
whether birds or fishes, that they have, except such as are accounted 
sacred, they eat either roasted or boiled. At their convivial ban- 
quets, among the wealthy classes, when they have finished supper, 
a man carries round in a coffin the image of a dead body carved 
in wood, made as perfect a counterfeit as possible in color and 
workmanship, and in size generally about one or two cubits in 
length ; and showing this to each of the company, he says : " Look 



102 HERODOTUS. 

upon this, then drink and enjoy yourself; for when dead you will 
be like this." 

They observe their ancient customs and acquire no new ones. 
Amono- other memorable customs they have just one song called 
" Linus," which is sung in Phoenicia, Cyprus, and elsewhere ; in 
different nations it bears a different name, but it agrees almost 
exactly with the same which the Greeks sing, under the name of 
Linus. So that among the many wonderful things in Egypt, the 
greatest wonder of all is where they got this Linus ; for they 
seem to have sung it from time immemorial. The " Linus " in the 
Eo-yptian language is called Maneros ; and the Egyptians say that 
he was the only son of the first king of Egypt, and that happening 
to die prematurely, he was honored by the Egyptians in this mourn- 
ing dirge, the first and only song they have. In the following par- 
ticular the Egyptians resemble the Lacedaemonians only among all 
the Greeks : the young men, when they meet their elders, give 
way and turn aside ; and rise from their seats when they approach. 
But, unlike any nation of the Greeks, instead of addressing 
one another in the streets, they salute by letting the hand fall down 
as far as the knee. They wear linen tunics fringed round the legs, 
which they call calasiris, and over these they throw white woollen 
mantles ; woollen clothes, however, are not carried into the tem- 
ples, nor are they buried with them, as this is accounted profane — 
agreeing in this respect with the worshippers of Orpheus and Bac- 
chus, who are Egyptians and Pythagoreans : for they consider it 
profane for one who is initiated in these mysteries to be buried in 
woollen garments for some religious reason or other. The Egyp- 
tians have discovered more prodigies than all the rest of the world. 
They have amongst them oracles of Hercules, Apollo, Minerva, 
Diana, Mars, and Jupiter ; but that which they honor above all 
others is the oracle of Latona in the city of Buto. The art of med- 
icine is divided amongst them into specialties, each physician 
applying himself to one disease only. All places abound in phy- 
sicians, some for the eyes, others for the head, others for the teeth, 
others for cutaneous diseases, and others still for internal disorders. 



CUSTOMS OF THE EGYFTTANS. 103 

Their manner of mourning and burying is as follows : When a 
man of any consideration dies, all the women of that family be- 
smear their heads and faces with mud, leave the body in the house, 
and wander about the city, beating themselves, having their clothes 
girt up, their neck and breast exposed, and all their relations 
accompany them. The men, too, beat themselves in the same way. 
When they have done this, they carry out the body to be embalmed. 
There are persons who are specially appointed for this purpose ; 
when the dead body is brought to them, they show to the bearers 
wooden models of corpses, skilfully painted to illustrate the various 
methods of embalming. They first show the most expensive man- 
ner of embalming ; then the second, which is inferior and less ex- 
pensive ; and lastly, the third and cheapest. The relations stipu- 
late which style they prefer, agree on the price, and depart. To 
embalm a body in the most expensive manner, they first draw out 
the brains through the nostrils with an iron hook, perfecting the 
operation by the infusion of drugs. Then with a sharp Ethiopian 
stone they make an incision in the side, and take out all the 
bowels ; and having cleansed the abdomen and rinsed it with palm- 
wine, they next sprinkle it with pounded perfumes. Then they 
fill the belly with pure myrrh pounded, and cassia, and other per- 
fumes, frankincense excepted, and sew it up again ; this done, they 
steep it in natrum, leaving it under for seventy days ; a longer 
time than which it is not lawful to steep it. At the expiration of the 
seventy days they wash the corpse, and wrap the whole body in 
bandages of flaxen cloth, smearing it with gum, which the Egyp- 
tians commonly use instead of glue. After this the relations take 
the body back again, make a wooden case in the shape of a man, 
enclose the body in it, and store it in a sepulchral chamber, setting 
it upright against the wall. For those who, to avoid great expense, 
desire the middle way, they prepare in the following manner. 
Charging syringes with oil made from cedar, they fill the abdomen 
of the corpse without making any incision or taking out the bowels, 
but inject it at the fundament ; and having prevented the injection 
from escaping, they steep the body in natrum for the prescribed 



I04 HERODOTUS. 

number of days, on the last of which they let out from the abdomen 
the oil of cedar which has such power that it brings away the in- 
testines and vitals in a state of dissolution ; the natrum dissolves 
the flesh, and nothing of the body remains but the skin and the 
bones. The operation is then complete. The third method of 
embalming, which is used only for the poorer sort, consists in 
thoroughly rinsing the abdomen in syrmaea, and steeping it with 
natrum for the seventy days. Should any person, whether Egyp- 
tian or stranger, be found to have been seized by a crocodile, or 
drowned in the river, to whatever city the body may be carried, 
the inhabitants are by law compelled to have the body embalmed, 
and adorned in the handsomest manner, and buried in the sacred 
vaults. Nor is it lawful for any one else, whether relations or 
friends, to touch him ; but the priests of the Nile bury the corpse 
with their own hands, as beino- something- more than human. 

They avoid using Grecian customs ; and, in a word, the customs 
of all other people whatsoever. 

The Egyptians who dwell in the morasses, have the same 
customs as the rest of the Egyptians, and each man has 
but one wife, like the Greeks. But to obtain food more 
easily, they have the following inventions : when the river is 
full, and has made the plains like a sea, great numbers of lilies, 
which the Egyptians call lotus, spring up in the water : these they 
gather and dry in the sun ; then having pounded the middle of 
the lotus, which resembles a poppy, they make bread of it and 
bake it. The root also of this lotus is fit for food, and is tolerably 
sweet ; it is round, and of the size of an apple. There are also 
other lilies, like roses, that grow in the river, the fruit of which is 
contained in a separate pod, that springs up from the root in form 
very much like a wasp's nest ; in this there are many berries fit to 
be eaten, of the size of an olive stone, and they are eaten both fresh 
and dried. The byblus, an annual plant, is found in the fens. They 
cut off the top and put it to some other uses, but the lower part 
that is left, to the length of a cubit, they eat and sell. Those who 
are anxious to eat the byblus dressed in the most delicate manner, 
stew it in a hot pan and then eat it. 



CUSTOMS OF THE EGYPTIANS. Io5 

The Egyptians who h"ve about the fens use an oil drawn from 
the fruit of the silHcypria, which they call cici : they plant and cul- 
tivate these sillicypria, which in Greece grow spontaneous and 
wild, on the banks of the rivers and lakes : under cultivation these 
bear an abundance of fruit, though of an offensive smell. Some 
bruise it and press out the oil ; others boil and stew it, and collect 
the liquid that flows from it; this is fat, and no less suited for lamps 
than olive oil ; but it emits a disgusting smell. They contrive in 
various ways to protect themselves from the mosquitoes, which 
are very abundant. Towers are of great service to those who in- 
habit the upper parts of the marshes ; for the mosquitoes are pre- 
vented by the winds from flying high : but those who live round 
the marshes have contrived another expedient. Every man has a 
net, with which in the daytime he takes fish, and at night, in what- 
ever bed he sleeps, he throws the net around it, and crawls in un- 
derneath ; if he should wrap himself up in his clothes or in linen, 
the mosquitoes would bite through them, but they never attempt 
to bite through the net. 

Their ships in which they convey merchandise are made of the 
acacia, which in shape is much like the Cyrensean lotus, and exudes 
a gum. From this acacia they cut planks about two cubits in 
length and join them together like bricks, building their ships in 
the following manner : They fasten the planks of two cubits 
length round stout and long ties : when they have thus built the 
hulls, they lay benches across them. They make no use of ribs, 
but caulk the seams inside with byblus. They make only one 
rudder, and that is driven through the keel. They use a mast of 
acacia, and sails of byblus. These vessels are unable to sail up 
the stream unless a fair wind prevails, but are towed from the 
shore. They are thus carried down the stream : there is a hurdle 
made of tamarisk, wattled with a band of reeds, and a stone with a 
hole in the middle, of about two talents in weight ; of these two, 
the hurdle is fastened to a cable, and let down at the prow of the 
vessel to be carried on by the stream ; and the stone by another 
cable at the stern ; and by this means the hurdle, by the stream 



io6 HERODOTUS, 

bearing hard upon it, moves quici^ly and draws along " the baris " 
(for this is the name given to these vessels), but the stone being 
dragged at the stern, and sunk to the bottom, keeps the vessel in its 
course. They have very many of these vessels, and some of them 
carry many thousand talents. When the Nile inundates the 
country, the cities alone are seen above its surface, like the islands 
dotting the ^gean Sea. When this happens, they navigate no 
longer by the channel of the river, but straight across the country. 



CHAPTER III. 

GOD-KINGS PRIOR TO MENES. 

In former time, the priests of Jupiter did to Hecatseus the his- 
torian, when he was tracing his own genealogy, and connecting his 
family with a god in the sixteenth degree, the same as they did to 
me, though I did not endeavor to trace my genealogy. Conduct- 
ing me into the interior of a spacious edifice, and showing me 
four hundred and forty-five wooden colossuses, they counted 
them over ; for every high-priest places an image of himself there 
during his lifetime ; the priests pointed out that the succession from 
father to son was unbroken. But when Hecataeus traced his own 
genealogy, and connected himself with a god in the sixteenth de- 
gree, they controverted his genealogy by computation, not ad- 
mittinc;- that a man could be born from a crod ; and said that each 
of the colossuses was a Piromis, sprung from a Piromis ; until 
they pointed out the three hundred and forty-five colossuses, 
each a Piromis, sprung from a Piromis, and they did not con- 
nect them with any god or hero. Piromis means, in the 
Grecian language, " a noble and good man." They said that these 
were very far from being gods ; but before the time of these men, 
gods had been the rulers of Egypt, and had dwelt amongst men ; 
and that one of them always had the supreme power, and that 
Orus, the son of Osiris, was the last who reigned over it. Now, 
Osiris in the Greek language means Bacchus, and Orus is the 
equivalent of Apollo. 

All the revenue from the city of Anthylla, which is of much im- 
portance, is assigned to purchase shoes for the wife of the reigning 
king of Egypt. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FIRST LINE OF 33O KINGS, ONLY THREE MENTIONED. 

The priests informed me, that Menes, who first ruled over 
Egypt, in the first place protected Memphis by a mound ; for the 
whole river formerly ran close to the sandy mountain on the side 
of Libya ; but Menes, beginning about a hundred stades above 
Memphis, filled in the elbow toward the south, dried up the old 
channel, and conducted the river into a canal, so as to make it flow 
between the mountains. This bend of the Nile is still carefully 
upheld by the Persians, and made secure every year ; for if the 
river should break through and overflow in this part, there would 
be danger lest all Memphis should be flooded. When the part cut 
off had been made firm land by this Menes, who was first king, he 
built on it the city that is now called Memphis ; and outside of it 
he excavated a lake from the river toward the north and the west ; 
for the Nile itself bounds it toward the east. In the next place, 
they relate that he built in it the temple of Vulcan, which is vast 
and well worthy of mention. After this the priests enumerated 
from a book the names of three hundred and thirty other kings. In 
so many generations of men, there were eighteen Ethiopians and 
one native queen, the rest were Egyptians. The name of this 
woman who reigned, was the same as that of the Babylonian queen, 
Nitocris : they said that she avenged her brother, whom the 
Egyptians had slain, while reigning over them. After they had 
slain him, they delivered the kingdom to her ; and she, to avenge 
him, destroyed many of the Egyptians by this stratagem : she 
caused an extensive apartment to be made underground, and pre- 
tended that she was going to consecrate it, then inviting those of 



FIRST LINE OF 330 KINGS. 



109 



the Egyptians whom she knew to have been principally concerned 
in the murder, she gave them a great banquet, and in the midst of 
the feast let in the river upon them, through a large concealed 
channel. Of the other kings they did not say that they were in any 




HEAD OF RAMESES II. 



respect renowned, except the last, Moeris ; he accomplished some 
memorable works, as the portal of Vulcan's temple, facing the 
north wind ; and dug a lake, and built pyramids in it, the size of 
which I shall mention when I come to speak of the lake itself. 



CHAPTER V. 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. 



I SHALL next mention king Sesostris. The priests said 
that he was the first who, setting out in ships of war from the 
Arabian Gulf, subdued those nations that dwell by the Red Sea ; 

There are also in Ionia two images of this king, carved on 
rocks, one on the way from Ephesia to Phocsea, the other from 
Sardis to Smyrna. In both places a man is carved, four cubits 
and a half high, holding a spear in his right hand, and a bow in 
his left, and the rest of his equipment in unison, for it is partly 
Egyptian and partly Ethiopian ; from one shoulder to the other 
across the breast extend sacred Egyptian characters engraved, 
which have the following meaning : "I acquired this region by 

MY OWN SHOULDERS." 

The priests tell a yarn of this Egyptian Sesostris, that returning 
and bringing with him many men from the nations whose terri- 
tories he had subdued, when he arrived at the Pelusian Daphnse, 
his brother, to whom he had committed the government of Egypt, 
invited him to an entertainment, and his sons with him, and caused 
wood to be piled up round the house and set on fire : but that 
Sesostris, being informed of this, immediately consulted with his 
wife, for he had taken his wife with him ; she advised him to ex- 
tend two of his six sons across the fire, and form a bridge over the 
burning mass, and that the rest should step on them and make 
their escape. Sesostris did so, and two of his sons were in this 
manner burned to death, but the rest, together with their father, 
were saved. Sesostris having returned to Egypt, and taken re- 
venge on his brother, employed the multitude of prisoners v;hom 
he brought from the countries he had subdued in many remarka- 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. 



1 1 1 



ble works : these were the men who drew the huge stones which, 
in the time of this king, were conveyed to the temple of Vulcan ; 
they, too, were compelled to dig all the canals now seen in Egypt ; 
and thus by their involuntary labor made Egypt, which before was 
throughout practicable for horses and carriages, unfit for these pur- 
poses. But the king intersected the country with this network of 
canals for the reason that such of the Egyptians as occupied the 
inland cities, being in want of water when the river receded, were 
forced to use a brackish beverage unfit to drink, which they drew 
from wells. They said also that this king divided the country 




BUST OF THOTHMES I. 



amongst all the Egyptians, giving an equal square allotment to 
each ; and thence drew his revenues by requiring them to pay a 
fixed tax every year ; if the river happened to take away a part of 
any one's allotment, he was to come to him and make known what 
had happened ; whereupon the king sent persons to inspect and 
measure how much the land was diminished, that in future he 
might pay a proportionate part of the appointed tax. Land- 
measuring appears to me to have had its beginning from this act, 
and to have passed over into Greece ; for the pole' and the sun- 



^ By the Greek word TLokoi Herodotus means " a concave dial," shaped like the vault of 
heaven. 



112 HERODOTUS. 

dial, and the division of the day into twelve parts, the Greeks 
learned from the Babylonians. This king- was the only Egyptian 
that ever ruled over Ethiopia ; he left as memorials in front of 
Vulcan's temple statues of stone : two of thirty cubits, of himself 
and his wife ; and four, each of twenty cubits, of his sons. A long 
time after, the priest of Vulcan would not suffer Darius the Persian 
to place his statue before them, saying, " that deeds had not been 
achieved by him equal to those of Sesostris the Egyptian : for 
Sesostris had subdued other nations, not fewer than Darius had 
done, and the Scythians besides ; but that Darius was not able to 
conquer the Sc\'thians ; wherefore it was not right for one who 
had not surpassed him in achievements to place his statue before 
his offerings." They relate, however, that Darius pardoned these 
observations. 

After the death of Sesostris, his son Pheron succeeded to the 
kingdom ; he undertook no military expedition, and happened to 
become blind through the following occurrence : the river having 
risen to a very great height for that time, eighteen cubits, it over- 
flowed the fields, a storm of wind arose, and the river was tossed 
about in waves ; whereupon they say that the king with great ar- 
rogance laid hold of a javelin, and threw it into the midst of the ed- 
dies of the river ; and that immediately afterward he was seized 
with a pain in his eyes, and became blind. He continued blind for 
ten years ; but in the eleventh, having escaped from this calamity, 
he dedicated offerings throughout all the celebrated temples, the 
most worthy of mention being two stone obelisks to the temple of 
the sun, each consisting of a single block of granite, and each a 
hundred cubits in length and eight cubits in breadth. 

A native of Memphis succeeded him in the kingdom, whose 
name in the Grecian language is Proteus ; there is to this day an 
enclosure sacred to him at Memphis, which is very beautiful and 
richly adorned, situated to the south side of the temple of Vulcan. 
The priests told me that when Paris had carried Helen off from 
Sparta, violent winds drove him out of his course in the yEgean 
into the Egyptian Sea, and from there (for the gale did not abate) 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. 1 1 3 

he came to Egypt, and in Egypt to that which is now called the 
Canopic mouth of the Nile. 

And Homer appears to me to have heard this relation ; but as 
it was not so well suited to epic poetry as the other which he has 
made use of, he rejected it. He has told in the Iliad the wander- 
ings of Paris ; how, while he was carrying off Helen, he was driven 
out of his course, and wandered to other places, and how he arrived 
at Sidon of Phoenicia ; and in the exploits of Diomede, his verses 
are as follows : •' Where were the variegated robes, works of Si- 
donian women, which god-like Paris himself brought from Sidon, 
sailing over the wide sea, along the course by which he conveyed 
high-born Helen."' He mentions it also in the Odyssey, in the 




PARIS CARRYING AWAY HELEN. 



following lines : •' Such well-chosen drugs had the daughter of Jove, 
of excellent quality, which Polydamna gave her, the Egyptian wife 
of Thonis, where the fruitful earth produces many drugs, many ex- 
cellent when mixed, and many noxious."^ Menelaus also says the 
following to Telemachus : " Thegods detained me in Egypt, though 
anxious to return hither, because I did not offer perfect hecatombs 
to them." 3 He shows in these verses, that he was acquainted with 
the wandering of Paris in Egypt ; for Syria borders on Egypt, and 
the Phoenicians, to whom Sidon belongs, inhabit Syria. From 
these verses, and this first passage especially, it is clear that Homer 
was not the author of the Cyprian verses, but some other person. 
For in the Cyprian verses it is said, that Paris reached Ilium from 

'Iliad, vi., 289. 'Odyssey, iv., 227. ^Odyssey, iv., 351. 



114 HERODOTUS. 

Sparta on the third day, when he carried off Helen, having met 
with a favorable wind and a smooth sea ; whereas Homer in the 
Iliad says that he wandered far while taking her with him. 

Rhampsinitus succeeded Proteus in the kingdom : He left as 
a monument the portico of the temple of Vulcan, fronting to the 
west; and erected two statues before the portico, twenty-five 
cubits high. Of these, the one standing to the north the Egyp- 
tians call Summer; and that to the south. Winter : and the one 
that they call Summer, they worship and do honor to ; but the one 
called Winter, tl ey treat in a quite contrary way. 

This king, they said, possessed a great quantity of money, such 
as no one of the succeeding kings was able to attain. Wishing to 
treasure up his wealth in safety, he built a chamber of stone, one of 
the walls of which adjoined the outside of the palace. But the buil- 
der, forming a plan against it, devised the following contrivance; he 
fitted one of the stones so that it might be easily taken out by two 
men, or even one. When the chamber was finished, the king laid 
up his treasures in it; in the course of time the builder, finding his 
end approaching, called his two sons to him, and described to them 
how he had provided when he was building the king's treasury 
that they might have abundant sustenance ; and having clearly 
explained to them every thing relating to the removal of the stone, 
he gave them its dimensions, and told them, if they would observe 
his instructions, they would be stewards of the king's riches. He 
died, and the sons were not long in applying themselves to the 
work ; coming by night to the palace, they found the stone in the 
building, easily removed it, and carried off a great quantity of 
treasure. When the king happened to open the chamber, he was 
astonished at seeing the vessels deficient in treasure ; but was not 
able to accuse any one, as the seals were unbroken, and the 
chamber well secured. When on opening it two or three times, 
the treasures were always evidently diminished (for the thieves 
did not cease plundering), he adopted the following plan : he 
ordered traps to be made, and placed them round the vessels in 
i which the treasures were. But when the thieves came as before. 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. Il5 

and one of them had entered, as soon as he went near a vessel, he 
was straightway caught in the trap ; perceiving, therefore, in what a 
predicament he was, he immediately called to his brother, and told 
him what had happened, and bade him enter as quick as possible, 
and cut off his head, lest, if he was seen and recognized, he should 
ruin him also : the other thought that he spoke well, and did as he 
was advised ; then, having fitted in the stone, he returned home, 
taking with him his brother's head. When day came, the king 
entered the chamber, and was astonished at seeing the body of the 
thief in the trap without the head, but the chamber secure, and 
without any means of entrance or exit. In this perplexity he con- 
trived another plan : he hung up the body of the thief on a public 
wall, and having placed sentinels there, ordered them to seize and 
bring before him whomsoever they should see weeping or express- 
ing commiseration at the spectacle. The mother was greatly 
grieved at the body being suspended, and coming to words with her 
surviving son, commanded him, by any means he could, to contrive 
how he might take down and bring away the corpse of his 
brother; and if he should neglect to do so, she threatened to go 
to the kino-, and inform him that he had the treasures. Havingr 
got some asses, and filled some skins with wine, he put them on 
the asses, and then drove them along ; but when he came near 
the sentinels that guarded the suspended corpse, he drew out two 
or three of the necks of the skins that huno- down, and loosened 
them ; and, as the wine ran out, he beat his head, and cried out 
aloud, as if he knew not to which of the asses he should turn first. 
The sentinels, when they saw wine flowing in abundance, ran into 
the road, with vessels in their hands, caught the wine that was 
being spilt, thinking it all their own gain; but the man, feigning 
anger, railed bitterly against them all ; however, as the sentinels 
soothed him, he at length pretended to be pacified ; and at last 
drove his asses out of the road, and set them to rights again. 
When more conversation passed, and one of the sentinels joked 
with him and set him lauQfhingf, he grave them another of the skins ; 
and they, just as they were, lay down and set to to drink, and 



Il6 HERODOTUS, 

invited him to stay and drink with them. He was persuaded, and 
remained with them ; and as they treated him kindly during the 
drinking, he gave them another of the skins ; and the sentinels, 
having taken very copious draughts, became royally drunk, and, 
overpowered by the wine, fell asleep on the spot. Then he took 
down the body of his brother, and having by way of insult shaved 
the rio-ht cheeks of all the sentinels, laid the corpse on the asses, 
and drove home, having performed his mother's injunctions. 
The king, upon being informed that the body of the thief had been 
stolen, was exceedingly indignant, but being unable by any means 
to find out the contriver of this artifice, he grew so astonished at 
the shrewdness and daring of the man, that at last, sending 
throughout all the cities, he caused a proclamation to be made, 
offering a free pardon, and promising great reward to the man, if 
he would discover himself. The thief, relying on this promise, 
went to the king's palace ; and Rhampsinitus greatly admired him, 
and gave him his daughter in marriage, accounting him the most 
knowing of all men ; for while the Egyptians were superior to all 
others, he was superior to the Egyptians. 

After this, they said that this king descended alive into the 
place which the Greeks call Hades, and there played at dice with 
Ceres, and sometimes won, and other times lost ; and that he 
came up again and brought with him as a present from her a 
napkin of gold. Any person to whom such things appear credible 
may adopt the accounts given by the Egyptians ; it is my object, 
however, throughout the whole history, to write what I hear from 
each people. The Egyptians say that Ceres and Bacchus hold the 
chief sway in the infernal regions ; and the Egyptians were also the 
first who asserted the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal, 
and that when the body perishes the soul enters into some other 
animal, constantly springing into existence ; and when it has 
passed through the different kinds of terrestrial, marine, and aerial 
beings, it again enters into the body of a man that is born ; and 
that this revolution is made in three thousand years. 

Now, they told me that down to the reign of Rhampsinitus 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. 



117 



there was a perfect distribution of justice, and that all Egypt was 
in a high state of prosperity ; but that after him Cheops, coming to 
reign over them, plunged into every kind of wickedness. For, 
having shut up all the temples, he first of all forbade them to offer 
sacrifice, and afterward ordered all the Egyptians to work for him ; 
some, accordingly, were appointed to draw stones from the quar- 
ries in the Arabian mountain down to the Nile, others he ordered 




BES AND HI. 



to receive the stones when transported in vessels across the river, 
and to drag them to the mountain called the Libyan. And they 
worked to the number of a hundred thousand men at a time, each 
party during three months. The time during which the people 
were thus harassed by toil lasted ten years on the road which they 
constructed, along which they drew the stones, a work, in my 
opinion, not much less than the pyramid : for its length is five 



Il8 HERODOTUS. 

stades, and its width ten orgyae, and its height, where it is the 
highest, eight orgyae ; and it is of polished stone, with figures 
carved on it : ten years, then, were expended on this road, and in 
forming the subterraneous apartments on the hill, on which the 
pyramids stand, which he had made as a burial vault for himself, 
in an island, formed by draining a canal from the Nile. Twenty 
years were spent in erecting the pyramid itself : of this, which is 
square, each face is eight plethra, and the height is the same ; it is 
composed of polished stones, and joined with the greatest exact- 
ness ; none of the stones are less than thirty feet in length. This 
pyramid was built in the form of steps, which some call crossse, 
others bomides. When they had first built it in this manner, they 
raised the stones for covering the surface by machines made of 
short pieces of wood : having lifted them from the ground to the 
first range of steps, when the stone arrived there it was put on 
another machine that stood ready on the first range ; from this it 
was drawn to the second range on another machine ; for the 
machines were equal in number to the ranges of steps ; or they 
removed the machine, which was only one, and portable, to each 
range in succession, whenever they wished to raise the stone 
higher; for I should relate it in both ways, as it was related to me. 
The highest parts of it were first finished, and last of all the parts on 
the ground. On the pyramid is shown an inscription, in Egyptian 
characters, how much was expended in radishes, onions, and garlic 
for the workmen ; which the interpreter, as I well remember, reading 
the inscription, told me amounted to one thousand six hundred 
talents of silver. If this be really the case, how much more was 
probably expended in iron tools, in bread, and in clothes for the 
laborers, since they occupied in building the works the time which 
I mentioned, and no short time besides, as I think, in cutting and 
drawing the stones, and in forming the subterraneous excavation. 
It is related that Cheops in his cruelty subjected his daughter to 
every sort of disgrace, but she contrived to leave a monument of 
herself, and asked every one that she met to give her a stone 
toward the edifice she designed : of these stones they said the 



I20 HERODOTUS. 

pyramid was built that stands in the middle of the three, before the 
great pyramid, each side of which is a plethron and a half in length. 
The Egyptians say that this Cheops reigned fifty years ; and when 
he died, his brother Chephren succeeded to the kingdom ; and he 
followed the same practices as the other, both in other respects, 
and in building a pyramid. This does not come up to the dimen- 
sions of his brother's, for I myself measured them ; nor has it sub- 
terraneous chambers ; nor does a channel from the Nile flow to it, 
as to the other; but this flows through an artificial aqueduct round 
an island within, in which they say the body of Cheops is laid. 
Having laid the first course of variegated Ethiopian stones, less in 
height than the other by forty feet, he built it near the large pyra- 
mid. They both stand on the same hill, which is about a hundred 
feet high, Chephren, they said, reigned fifty-six years. Thus one 
hundred and six years are reckoned, during which the Egyptians 
suffered all kinds of calamities, and for this length of time the tem- 
ples were never opened. From the hatred they bear them the 
Egyptians are not very willing to mention their names ; but call 
the pyramids after Philition, a shepherd, who at that time kept his 
cattle in those parts. 

They said that after him, Mycerinus, son of Cheops, reigned 
over Egypt ; that the conduct of his father was displeasing to him ; 
and that he opened the temples, and permitted the people, who 
were worn down to the last extremity, to return to their employ- 
ments, and to sacrifices ; and that he made the most just decisions 
of all their kings. On this account, of all the kings that ever reigned 
in Egypt, they praise him most, for he both judged well in other 
respects, and moreover, when any man complained of his decision, 
he used to make him some present out of his own treasury and 
pacify his anger. To this beneficent Mycerinus, the beginning of 
misfortunes was the death of his daughter, who was his only child ; 
whereupon he, extremely afflicted, and wishing to bury her in a 
more costly manner than usual, caused a hollow wooden image of 
a cow to be made and covered with gold, into which he put the 
body of his deceased daughter. This cow was not interred in the 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. 



121 



ground, but even in my time was exposed to view in the city of 
Sais, placed in the royal palace, in a richly furnished chamber. 
They burn near it all kinds of aromatics every day, and a lamp is 
kept burning by it throughout each night. 

The cow is covered with a purple cloth, except the head and 
the neck, which are overlaid with very thick gold ; and the orb of 
the sun imitated in gold is placed between the horns. The cow is 
kneeling ; in size equal to a large, living cow. 




■"»///////////////////'" ■"■ 

SECTION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 



After the loss of his daughter, a second calamity befell this king : 
an oracle reached him from the city of Buto, importing, " that he 
had no more than six years to live, and should die in the seventh." 
Thinking this very hard, he sent a reproachful message to the god, 
complaining, " that his father and uncle, who had shut up the 
temples, and paid no regard to the gods, and moreover had 
oppressed men, had lived long ; whereas he who was religious 
must die so soon." But a second message came to him from the 
oracle, stating, " that for this very reason his life was shortened, 
because he had not done what he ought to have done ; for it was 
needful that Egypt should be afflicted during one hundred and fifty 
years ; and the two who were kings before him understood this. 



122 HERODOl^US. 

but he did not." When Mycerinus heard this, and saw that this 
sentence was now pronounced against him, he ordered a great 
number of lamps to be made, which were hghted whenever night 
came on, and he drank and enjoyed himself, never ceasing night 
or day, roving about the marshes and groves, wherever he could 
hear of places most suited for pleasure. He had recourse to this 
artifice for the purpose of convicting the oracle of falsehood, that 
by turning the nights into days, he might have twelve years instead 
of six. 

This king also left a pyramid, but much smaller than that of his 
father, being on each side twenty feet short of three plethra ; it is 
quadrangular, and built half way up of Ethiopian stone. 

After Mycerinus, the priests said, that Asychis became king of 
Egypt, and that he built the eastern portico to the temple of Vul- 
can, which is by far the largest and most beautiful in its wealth of 
sculptured figures and infinite variety of architecture. This king, 
being desirous of surpassing his predecessors, left a pyramid, as a 
memorial, made of bricks ; on which is an inscription carved on 
stone, in the following words : " Do not despise me in comparison 
with the pyramids of stone, for I excel them as much as Jupiter, the 
other gods. For by plunging a pole into a lake, and collecting 
the mire that stuck to the pole, men made bricks, and in this man- 
ner built me." 

After him there reigned a blind man of the city of Anysis, whose 
name was Anysis. During his reign, the Ethiopians and their king, 
Sabacon, invaded Egypt with a large force ; whereupon this blind 
king fled to the fens ; and the Ethiopian reigned over Egypt for fifty 
years, during which time he performed the following actions : When 
any Egyptians committed any crime, he would not have any of them 
put to death, but passed sentence upon each according to the mag- 
nitude of his offence, enjoining them to heap up mounds of earth, 
each offender against his own city, and by this means the cities 
were made much higher ; for first of all they had been raised 
considerably by those who dug the canals in the time of king 
Sesostris. Although other cities .in Egypt were carried to a 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. 



123 



great height, in my opinion the greatest mounds were thrown 
up about the city of Bubastis, in which is a beautiful temple of 
Bubastis corresponding to the Grecian Diana. Her sacred pre- 
cinct is thus situated : all except the entrance is an island ; for two 
canals from the Nile extend to it, not mingling with each other, 
but each reaches as far as the entrance to the precinct, one flowing 
round it on one side, the other on the other. Each is a hundred 
feet broad, and shaded with trees. The portico is ten orgyse in 
height, and is adorned with figures six cubits high, that are deserv- 
ing of notice. This precinct, being in the middle of the city, is 
visible on every side to a person going round it ; for while the 




'■y/':///;"//^///"//'/'/ 



SECTION OF GALLERY IN PYRAMID. 



city has been mounded up to a considerable height, the temple has 
not beeji moved, so that it is conspicuous as it was originally 
built. A wall sculptured with figures runs round it ; and within is 
a grove of lofty trees, planted round a large temple in which the 
image is placed. The width and length of the precinct is each 
way a stade. Along the entrance is a road paved with stone, 
four plethra in width and about three stades in length, leading 
through the square eastward toward the temple of Mercury ; 
on each side of the road grow trees of enormous height. They 
told me that the final departure of the Ethiopian occurred in 
the following manner : it appeared to him in a vision that a man, 
standing by him, advised him to assemble all the priests in Egypt, 



124 HERODOTUS. 

and to cut them in two down the middle ; but he, fearing that the 
gods held out this as a pretext to him, in order that he, having 
been guilty of impiety in reference to sacred things, might draw 
down some evil on himself from gods or from men, would not do 
so ; but as the time had expired during which it was foretold that 
he should reign over Egypt, he departed hastily from the country. 
When Sabacon of his own accord had departed from Egypt, the 
blind king resumed the government, having returned from the 
fens, where he had lived fifty years, on an island formed of ashes 
and earth. For when any of the Egyptians came to him bringing 
provisions, as they were severally ordered to do unknown to the 
Ethiopian, he bade them bring some ashes also as a present. 
The kings who preceded Amyrtaeus were unable, for more than 
seven hundred years, to find out where this island was. It was 
called Elbo, and was about ten stades square. 

After him reigned a priest of Vulcan, whose name was Sethon : 
he held in no account the military caste of the Egyptians, as not 
having need of their services ; and accordingly, among other in- 
dignities, he took away their lands ; to each of whom, under former 
kings, twelve chosen acres had been assigned. After this, when 
Sennacherib, king of the Arabians and Assyrians, marched a large 
army against Egypt, the Egyptian warriors refused to assist him ; 
and the priest, being reduced to a strait, entered the temple, and 
bewailed before the image the calamities he was in danger of suf- 
fering. While he was lamenting, sleep fell upon him, and it 
appeared to him in a vision, that the god stood by and encouraged 
him, assuring him that he should suffer nothing disagreeable in 
meeting the Arabian army, for he would himself send assistants to 
him. Confiding in this vision, he took with him such of the Egyp- 
tians as were willing to follow him, and encamped in Pelusium, at 
the entrance into Egypt ; but none of the military caste followed 
him, only tradesmen, mechanics, and sutlers. When they arrived 
there, a number of field mice, pouring in upon their enemies, de- 
voured their quivers and their bows, and the handles of their 
shields ; so that on the next day, when they fled bereft of their 



FROM SESOSTRIS TO SETHON. 



125 



arms, many of them fell. And to this day, a stone statue of this 
king stands in the temple of Vulcan, with a mouse in his hand, 




HALL OF COLUMNS IN THE GREAT TEMPLE OF KARNAK. 

and an inscription to the following effect : " Whoever looks on 
me, let him revere the eods." 



126 HERODOTUS. 

The Egyptians and the priests show that from the first king to 
this priest of Vulcan who last reigned, were three hundred and 
forty-one generations of men ; and the same number of chief priests 
and kings. Now, three hundred generations are equal to ten 
thousand years, for three generations of men are one hundred 
years ; and the forty-one remaining generations that were over 
the three hundred, make one thousand three hundred and forty 
years. Thus, they say, in eleven thousand three hundred and 
forty years, no god has assumed the form of a man. They relate 
that durino^ this time the sun has four times risen out of his 
usual quarter, and that he has twice risen where he now sets, and 
twice set where he now rises ; yet, that no change in the things in 
Egypt was occasioned by this, either in respect to the productions 
of the earth or the river, or to diseases or deaths. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THIRD LINE ; FROM THE TWELVE KINGS TO AMASIS. 

What things both other men and the Egyptians agree in say- 
ing occurred in this country, I shall now proceed to relate, and 
shall add to them some things of my own observation. The 
Egyptians having become free, after the reign of the priest of Vul- 
can, since they were at no time able to live without a king, di- 
vided all Egypt into twelve parts and established twelve others. 
These contracted intermarriages, and agreed that they would 
not attempt the subversion of one another, and would main- 
tain the strictest friendship. They made these regulations and 
strictly upheld them, for the reason that it had been foretold them 
by an oracle when they first assumed the government, " that who- 
ever among them should offer a libation in the temple of Vulcan 
from a bronze bowl, should be king of all Egypt " ; for they used 
to assemble in all the temples. Now, being determined to leave 
in common a memorial of themselves, they built a labyrinth, a little 
above the lake of Mceris, situated near that called the city of Croco- 
diles ; this I have myself seen, and found it greater than can be 
described. For if any one should reckon up all the buildings 
and public works of the Greeks, they would be found to have cost 
less labor and expense than this labyrinth alone, though the temple 
in Ephesus is deserving of mention, and also that in Samos. The 
pyramids likewise were beyond description, and each of them com- 
parable to many of the great Greek structures. Yet the labyrinth 
surpasses even the pyramids. For it has twelve courts enclosed 
with walls, with doors opposite each other, six facing the north, 
and sixth the south, contiguous to one another ; and the same 
exterior wall encloses them. It contains two kinds of rooms, some 



128 HERODOTUS. 

under ground and some above, to the number of three thousand, 
fifteen hundred of each. The rooms above ground I myself went 
through and saw, and relate from personal inspection. But the 
underground rooms I know only from report ; for the Egyptians 
who have charge of the building would, on no account, show me 
them, saying that they held the sepulchres of the kings who 
originally built this labyrinth, and of the sacred crocodiles. I can 
therefore only relate what I have learnt by hearsay concerning the 
lower rooms ; but the upper ones, which surpass all human works, 
I myself saw. The passages through the corridors, and the 
windings through the courts, from their great variety, presented a 
thousand occasions of wonder, as I passed from a court to the 
rooms, and from the rooms to halls, and to other corridors from 
the halls, and to other courts from the rooms. The roofs of all 
these are of stone, as also are the walls ; but the walls are full of 
sculptured figures. Each court is surrounded with a colonnade of 
white stone, closely fitted. And adjoining the extremity of the 
labyrinth is a pyramid, forty orgyae in height, on which large 
figures are carved, and a way to it has been made under ground. 
Yet more wonderful than this labyrinth is the lake named from 
Mccris, near which this labyrinth is built ; its circumference measures 
three thousand six hundred stades, or a distance equal to the 
sea-coast of Egypt. The lake stretches lengthways, north and south, 
being in depth in the deepest part fifty orgyse. That it is made by 
hand and dry, this circumstance proves, for about the middle of the 
lake stand two pyramids, each rising fifty orgyse above the surface 
of the water, and the part built under water extends to an equal 
depth ; on each of these is placed a stone statue, seated on a throne. 
Thus these pyramids are one hundred orgyse in height. The water 
in this lake does not spring from the soil, for these parts are exces- 
sively dry, but it is conveyed through a channel from the Nile, and 
for six months it flows into the lake, and six months out again into 
the Nile. And during the six months that it flows out it yields a 
talent of silver every day to the king's treasury from the fish ; but 
when the water is flowing into it, twenty minse. The people of the 



FROM THE TWELVE KINGS TO AMASIS. 



129 



country told me that this lake discharges itself under ground Into 
the Syrtis of Libya, running westward toward the interior by the 
mountain above Memphis. But when I did not see anywhere a 
heap of soil from this excavation, for this was an object of curiosity 
to me, I inquired of the people who lived nearest the lake, where 
the soil that had been dug out was to be found ; they told me where 





EGYPTIAN BELL CAPITALS. 



1^ 




HARPOON AND FISH HOOKS. 



it had been carried, and easily persuaded me, because I had heard 
that a similar thing had been done at Nineveh, in Assyria. For 
certain thieves formed a design to carry away the treasures of Sar- 
danapalus, King of Nineveh, which were very large, and preserved 
in subterraneous treasuries ; the thieves, therefore, beginning from 
their own dwellings, dug under ground by estimated measurement 



I30 HERODOTUS. 

to the royal palace, and the soil that was taken out of the excava- 
tions, when night came on, they threw into the river Tigris, that 
flows by Nineveh ; and so they proceeded until they had effected 
their purpose. The same method I heard was adopted in digging 
the lake in Egypt, except that it was not done by night, but during 
the day ; for the Egyptians who dug out the soil carried it to the 
Nile, and the river receiving it, soon dispersed it. 

While the twelve kings continued to observe justice, in course 
of time, as they were sacrificing in the temple of Vulcan, and were 
about to offer a libation on the last day of the festival, the high- 
priest, mistaking the number, brought out eleven of the twelve 
golden bowls with which he used to make the libation. Where- 
upon he who stood last of them, Psammitichus, since he had not 
a bowl, having taken off his helmet, which was of bronze, held it out 
and made the libation. All the other kine^s were in the habit of 
wearing helmets, and at that time had them on. Psammitichus 
therefore, without any sinister intention, held out his helmet; but 
they having taken into consideration what was done by Psammiti- 
chus, and the oracle that had foretold to them, "that whoever 
among them should offer a libation from a bronze bowl, should be 
sole king of Egypt"; calling to mind the oracle, did not think it 
right to put him to death, since upon examination they found that 
he had done it by no premeditated design. But they determined 
to banish him to the marshes, having divested him of the greatest 
part of his power; and they forbade him to leave the marshes, or 
have any intercourse with the rest of Egypt. With the design of 
avenging himself on his persecutors, he sent to the city of Buto to 
consult the oracle of Latona, the truest oracle that the Egyptians 
have, and the answer was returned " that vengeance would come 
from the sea, when men of bronze should appear." He was very in- 
credulous that men of bronze would come to assist him ; but not long 
after a stress of weather compelled some lonians and Carians, who 
had sailed out for the purpose of piracy, to bear away to Egypt ; 
and when they had disembarked and were clad in bronze armor, an 
Egyptian, who had never before seen men clad in such manner. 



FROM THE TWELVE KINGS TO AM A SIS. 



I^I 



went to the marshes to Psammitichus, and told him that men of 
bronze had arrived from the sea, and were ravaging the plains. He 
felt at once that the oracle was accomplished, and treated these 
lonians and Carians in a friendly manner, and by promising them 
great things, persuaded them to join with him ; and, with their help 
and that of such Egyptians as were well disposed toward him, he 
overcame the other kings. 

Psammitichus, now master of all Egypt, constructed the portico 
to Vulcan's temple at Memphis that faces the south wind ; he 
built a court for Apis, in which he is fed whenever he appears, 
opposite the portico, surrounded by a colonnade, and full of sculp- 
tured figures ; and instead of pillars, statues twelve cubits high 
are placed under the piazza. Apis, in the language of the Greeks, 
means Epaphus. To the lonians, and those who with them had 
assisted him, Psammitichus gave 
lands opposite each other, with 
the Nile flowing between. These 
bear the name of " Camps." He 
royally fulfilled all his promises ; 
and he moreover put Egyptian 
children under their care to be 
instructed in the Greek lan- 
guage; from whom the present interpreters in Egypt are de- 
scended. The lonians and the Carians continued for a lono- 
time to inhabit these lands, situated near the sea, a little below 
the city of Bubastis. They were the first people of a different 
language who settled in Egypt. The docks for their ships, and 
the ruins of their buildings, were to be seen in my time in the 
places from which they had removed. 

Psammitichus reigned in Egypt fifty-four years ; during twenty- 
nine of which he sat down before and besieged Azotus, a large 
city of Syria, until he took it. This Azotus, of all the cities we 
know of, held out against a siege the longest period. Neco was 
son of Psammitichus, and became king of Egypt : he first set about 
the canal that leads to the Red Sea, which Darius the Persian 




EGYPTIAN HELMETS. 



132 HERODOTUS. 

afterward completed. Its length is a voyage of four days, and in 
width it was dug so that two triremes might sail rowed abreast. 
The water is drawn into it from the Nile, and enters it a little 
above the city Bubastis. The canal passes near the Arabian city 
Patumos, and reaches to the Red Sea. In the digging of it one 
hundred and twenty thousand Egyptians perished in the reign of 
Neco. 

Psammis his son reigned only six years over Egypt. He 
made an expedition into Ethiopia, and shortly afterward died, 
Apries his son succeeding to the kingdom. He, next to his 
grandfather Psammitichus, enjoyed greater prosperity than any of 
the former kings, during a reign of five and twenty years, in which 
period he marched an army against Sidon, and engaged the 
Tyrians by sea. But it was destined for him to meet with adver- 
sity. For, having sent an army against the Cyrenseans, he met 
with a signal defeat. And the Egyptians, complaining of this, 
revolted from him, suspecting that Apries had designedly sent 
them to certain ruin, in order that they might be destroyed, and 
he might govern the rest of the Egyptians with greater security. 
Both those that returned and the friends of those who perished, 
being very indignant at this, openly revolted against him. Apries, 
having heard of this, sent Amasis to appease them by persuasion. 
But when he had come to them, and was urging them to desist 
from their enterprise, one of the Egyptians, standing behind him, 
placed a helmet on his head, and said : " I put this on you to 
make you king." And this action was not at all disagreeable to 
Amasis, as he presently showed. When Apries heard of this, he 
armed his auxiliaries and marched against the Egyptians with 
Carian and Ionian auxiliaries to the number of thirty thousand. 
They met near the city Momemphis, and prepared to engage with 
each other. Apries had a palace in the city of Sais that was spa- 
cious and magnificent. 

There are seven classes of people among the Egyptians — 
priests, warriors, herdsmen, swineherds, tradesmen, interpreters, 
and pilots. Their warriors are called Calasiries or Hermotybies. 



FROM THE TWELVE KINGS TO AMASIS. 1 33 

The Hermotybies number, when they are most numerous, a hun- 
dred and sixty thousand. None of these learn any business or 
mechanical art, but apply themselves wholly to military affairs. 
The Calasiries number two hundred and fifty thousand men : nor 
are these allowed to practise any art, but they devote themselves 
to military pursuits alone, the son succeeding to his father. 

When Apries, leading his auxiliaries, and Amasis, all the 
Egyptians, met together at Momemphis, the foreigners fought 
well, but being far inferior in numbers, were, on that account, 
defeated. Apries is said to have been of opinion that not even a 
god could deprive him of his kingdom, so securely did he think 
himself established ; but he was beaten, taken prisoner, and carried 
back to Sais, to that which was formerly his own palace, but which 
now belonged to Amasis : here he was maintained for some time 
in the royal palace, and Amasis treated him well. But at length 
the Egyptians complaining that he did not act rightly in preserving 
a man who was the greatest enemy both to them and to him, he 
delivered Apries to the Egyptians. They strangled him, and buried 
him in his ancestral sepulchre, in the sacred precinct of Minerva, 
very near the temple, on the left hand as you enter. 

Apries being thus dethroned, Amasis, who was of the Saitic 
district, reigned in his stead ; the name of the city from which he 
came was Siuph. At first the Egyptians held him in no great es- 
timation, as having been formerly a private person, and of no illus- 
trious family ; but afterward he conciliated them by an act of 
address, without any arrogance. He had an infinite number of 
treasures among them a golden foot-pan, in which Amasis himself 
and all his guests were accustomed to wash their feet. This he 
broke in pieces, had the statue of a god made from it, and placed 
it in the most suitable part of the city. The Egyptians flocked to 
the image and paid it the greatest reverence. Thus, Amasis called 
the Egyptians together and said : " This statue was made out of 
the foot-pan in which the Egyptians formerly spat and washed 
their feet, and which they then so greatly reverenced ; now, the 
same has happened to me as to the foot-pan ; for though I was be- 



134 HERODOTUS. 

fore but a private person, I now am your king ; you must there- 
fore honor and respect me." By this means he won over the 
Egyptians, so that they thought fit to obey him. He adopted the 
following method of managing his affairs : early in the morning, 
until the time of full-markat, he assiduously despatched the business 
brought before him ; after that he drank and jested with his com- 
panions, and talked loosely and sportively. But his friends, offend- 
ed at this, admonished him, saying : " You do not, O king, con- 
trol yourself properly, in making yourself too common. For it 
becomes you, who sit on a venerable throne, to pass the day in 
transacting public business ; thus the Egyptians would know that 
they are governed by a great man, and you would be better 
spoken of. But now you act in a manner not at all becoming a 
king." But he answered them : "They who have bows, when 
they want to use them, bend them ; but when they have done 
using them, they unbend them ; for if the bow were to be kept 
always bent, it would break. Such is the condition of man ; if he 
should incessantly attend to serious business, and- not give himself 
up sometimes to sport, he would shortly become mad or stupefied. 
I, being well aware of this, give up a portion of my time to each. 
He built an admirable portico to the temple of Minerva at Sais, 
far surpassing all others both in height and size, as well as in the 
dimensions and quality of the stones ; he likewise dedicated large 
statues, and huge andro-sphinxes, and brought other stones of a 
prodigious size for repairs : some from the quarries near Memphis ; 
but those of greatest magnitude, from the city of Elephantine, dis- 
tant from Sais a passage of twenty days. But that which I rather 
the most admire, is this : he brought a building of one stone from 
the city of Elephantine, and two thousand men, who were ap- 
pointed to convey it, were occupied three whole years in its trans- 
port, and these men were all pilots. The length of this chamber, 
outside, is twenty-one cubits, the breadth fourteen, and the height 
eight. But inside, the length is eighteen cubits and twenty digits, 
the width twelve cubits, and the height five cubits. This cham- 
ber is placed near the entrance of the sacred precinct ; for they 



FROM THE TWELVE KINGS TO AM A SIS. 13^ 

say that he did not draw it within the precinct for the following 
reason : the architect, as the chamber was being drawn along, 




THE GREAT SPHINX. 



heaved a deep sigh, being wearied with the work, over which so 
long a time had been spent ; whereupon Amasis, making a re- 



o 



6 HERODO TUS. 



ligious scruple of this, would not suffer it to be drawn any far- 
ther. Some persons however say, that one of the men employed 
at the levers was crushed to death by it, and that on that account 
it was not drawn into the precinct. Amasis dedicated in all the 
most famous temples, works admirable for their magnitude ; and 
amongst them, at Memphis, the reclining colossus before the 
temple of Vulcan, of which the length is seventy-five feet ; and 
on the same base stand two statues of Ethiopian stone, each twenty 
feet in height, one on each side of the temple. There is also at 
Sais another similar statue, lying in the same manner as that at 
Memphis. It was Amasis also who built the temple to Isis at 
Memphis, which is spacious and well worthy of notice. 

Under the reign of Amasis, Egypt is said to have enjoyed the 
greatest prosperity, both in respect to the benefits derived from 
the river to the land, and from, the land to the people ; and it is 
said to have contained at that time twenty thousand inhabited 
cities. Amasis it was who established the law among the Egyp- 
tians, that every Egyptian should annually declare to the governor 
of his district, by what means he maintained himself ; and if he 
failed to do this, or did not show that he lived by honest means, 
he should be punished with death. Solon the Athenian brought 
this law from Egypt and established it at Athens. Amasis, being 
partial to the Greeks, bestowed other favors on various of the 
Greeks, and gave the city of Naucratis for such as arrived in 
Egypt to dwell in ; and to such as did not wish to settle there, but 
only to trade by sea, he granted places where they might erect 
altars and temples to the gods. Now, the most spacious of these 
sacred buildings, which is also the most renowned and frequented, 
called the Hellenium, was erected at the common charge of the 
following cities : of the lonians, — Chios, Teos, Phocaea, and Clazo- 
mense ; of the Dorians, — Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus, Phaselis ; 
and of the y^olians, — xMitylene alone. So that this temple belongs 
to them, and these cities appoint officers to preside over the mart : 
and whatever other cities claim a share in it, claim what does not 
belong to them. Besides this, the people of ^gina built a temple 



FROM THE TWELVE KINGS TO AM A SIS. 137 

to Jupiter for themselves ; and the Samians another to Juno, and 
the Milesians one to Apollo. Naucratis was anciently the only 
place of resort for merchants, and there was no other in Egypt : 
and if a man arrived at any other mouth of the Nile, he was 
oblicred to swear " that he had come there against his will " ; and 
having taken such an oath, he must sail in the same ship to the 
Canopic mouth ; but if he should be prevented by contrary winds 
from doing so, he was forced to unload his goods and carry them 
in barges round the Delta until he reached Naucratis. So great 
were the privileges of Naucratis. When the Amphyctions con- 
tracted to build the temple that now stands at Delphi for three 
hundred talents — for the temple that was formerly there had been 
burned by accident, and it fell upon the Delphians to supply a 
fourth part of the sum — the Delphians went about from city to 
city to solicit contributions, and brought home no small amount 
from Egypt. For Amasis gave them a thousand talents of alum, 
and the Greeks who were settled in Egypt twenty minae. 

Amasis also dedicated offerings in Greece. In the first place, 
a gilded statue of Minerva at Gyrene, and his own portrait painted ; 
secondly, to Minerva in Lindus two stone statues and a linen 
corselet well worthy of notice ; thirdly, to Juno at Samos two 
images of himself carved in wood, which stood in the large temple 
even in my time, behind the doors. He was the first who con- 
quered Cyprus, and subjected it to the payment of tribute. 



BOOK III. THALIA. 



CHAPTER I. 

EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. 

Cambyses, son of Cyrus, made war against Amasis, leading 
with him his own subjects, together with Greeks, lonians and 
Cohans. The cause of the war was this : Cambyses sent a herald 
into Egypt to demand the daughter of Amasis. The suggestion 
was made by an Egyptian physician, who out of spite served 
Amasis in this manner, because Amasis had selected him out of 
all the physicians in Egypt, torn him from his wife and children, 
and sent him as a present to the Persians, when Cyrus had sent 
to Amasis, and required of him the best oculist in Egypt. The 
Egyptian therefore, having this spite against him, urged on Cam- 
byses by his suggestions, bidding him demand the daughter of 
Amasis, in order that if he should comply he might be grieved, or 
if he refused he might incur the hatred of Cambyses. But Amasis, 
dreading the power of the Persians, resorted to a piece of deceit. 
There was a daughter of Apries, the former king, very tall and 
beautiful, the only survivor of the family, named Nitetis. This 
damsel, Amasis adorned with cloth of gold, and sent to Persia as 
his own daughter. After a time, when Cambyses saluted her, 
addressing her by her father's name, the damsel said to him : " O 
king, you do not perceive that you have been imposed upon by 
Amasis, who dressed me in rich attire, and sent me to you, pre- 
senting me as his own daughter ; whereas, I am really the daugh- 
ter of Apries, whom he put to death, after he had incited the Egyp- 
tians to revolt." These words enraged Cambyses, and led him to 
invade Egypt. 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. 



139 



A circumstance that few of those who have made voyages to 
Egypt have noticed, I shall now proceed to mention. From every 
part of Greece, and also from Phoenicia, earthen vessels filled with 
wine are imported into Egypt twice every year, and yet not a 
single one of these wine jars is afterward to be seen. In what 
way, then, you may ask, are they disposed of? Every magistrate 
is obliged to collect all the vessels from his own city, and send 
them to Memphis ; the people of that city fill them with water, 
and convey them to the arid parts of Syria ; so that the earthen 
vessels continually imported and landed in Egypt, are added to 
those already in Syria. The Persians, as soon as they became 
masters of Egypt, facilitated the passage into that country, by sup- 




EGYPTIAN POTTERY. 



plying it with water in this manner. But as, at that time, water 
was not provided, Cambyses, by the advice of a Halicarnassian 
stranger, sent ambassadors to the Arabian, and requested a safe 
passage, which he obtained, giving to, and receiving from him, 
pledges of faith. 

The Arabians observe pledges as religiously as any people : 
■when any wish to pledge their faith, a third person, standing be- 
tween the two parties, makes an incision with a sharp stone in the 
palm of the hand, near the longest fingers, of both the contractors ; 
then taking some of the nap from the garment of each, he smears 
seven stones, placed between them, with the blood ; and as he 
does this, he invokes Bacchus and Urania. When this ceremony 
is completed, the person who pledges his faith, binds his friends as 



I40 HERODOTUS. 

sureties to the stranger, or the citizen, if the contract be made with 
a citizen, and the friends also hold themselves obliged to observe 
the engagement. They acknowledge no other gods than Bacchus 
and Urania, and they say that their hair is cut in the same way as 
Bacchus' is cut, in a circular form, banged round the temples. 
They call Bacchus, Orotal ; and Urania, Alilat. When the 
Arabian had exchanged pledges with the ambassadors who came 
from Cambyses, he filled camels' skins with water, loaded them on 
all his living camels, and drove them to the arid region, and there 
awaited the army of Cambyses. This is the most credible of the 
accounts that are given ; yet it is right that one less credible should 
be mentioned, since it is likewise affirmed. There is a large river 
in Arabia called Corys, which discharges itself into the Red Sea. 
From this river it is said that the kino- of the Arabians, havino- 
sewn together a pipe of ox-hides and other skins, reaching in 
length to the desert, conveyed the water through it ; and that in 
the arid region he dug large reservoirs, to receive and preserve the 
water. It is a twelve days' journey from the river to the desert, 
yet he conveyed water through three pipes into three different 
places. 

Amasis died after a reign of forty-four years, during which no 
great calamity had befallen him. He was embalmed and buried 
in the sepulchre within the sacred precinct, which he himself had 
built. During the reign of Psammenitus, son of Amasis, a most 
remarkable prodigy befell the Egyptians ; rain fell at Egyptian 
Thebes, which had never happened before, nor since, to my time, 
as the Thebans themselves affirm. For no rain ever falls in the 
upper regions of Egypt ; but at that time rain fell in drops at 
Thebes. The Persians, having marched through the arid region, 
halted near the Egyptians, as if with a design of engaging ; there 
the auxiliaries of the Egyptians, consisting of Greeks and Carians, 
condemning Phanes because he had led a foreign army against 
Egypt, adopted the following expedient against him : Phanes had 
left his sons in Egypt ; these they brought to the camp, within 
sight of their father, placed a bowl midway between the two armies^ 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. 141 

then dragging the children one by one, they slew them over the 
bowl, into which they also poured wine and water ; then all the 
auxiliaries drank of the blood, and immediately joined battle. 
After a hard fight, when great numbers had fallen on both sides, 
the Egyptians were put to flight. Here I saw a very surprising 
fact, of which the people of the country informed me. As the 
bones of those who were killed in that battle lie scattered about 
separately, the bones of the Persians in one place, and those of the 
Egyptians in another, the skulls of the Persians were so weak that 
if you should hit one with a single pebble, you would break a hole 
in it ; whereas those of the Egyptians are so hard, that you could 
scarcely fracture them by striking them with a stone. The cause 
of this, they told me (and I readily assented), is that the Egyptians 
begin from childhood to shave their heads, and the bone is thick- 
ened by exposure to the sun ; from the same cause also they are 
less subject to baldness, and one sees fewer persons bald in Egypt 
than in any other country. But the Persians have weak skulls, be- 
cause they shade them from the first, wearing tiaras for hats. 

The Egyptians fled in complete disorder from the battle. 
When they had shut themselves up in Memphis, Cambyses sent a 
Mitylensean bark up the river, with a Persian herald on board, to 
invite the Egyptians to terms. But when they saw the bark enter- 
ing Memphis they rushed in a mass from the wall, destroyed the 
ship, and having torn the crew to pieces, limb by limb, they car- 
ried them into the citadel. After this the Egyptians were besieged, 
and at length surrounded. The neighboring Libyans, fearing what 
had befallen Egypt, gave themselves up without resistance, sub- 
mitted to pay a tribute, and sent presents, which Cambyses re- 
ceived very graciously. 

On the tenth day after Cambyses had taken the citadel of 
Memphis, he seated Psammenitus, the King of the Egyptians, who 
had reigned only six months, at the entrance of the city. And by 
way of insult, he dressed his daughter in the habit of a slave, and 
sent her with a pitcher to fetch water, with other maidens selected 
from the principal families, dressed in the same manner. As the 



142 HERODOTUS. 

girls, with loud lamentation and weeping, came into the presence 
of their fathers, all the other fathers answered them with wailing 
and weeping, when they beheld their children thus humiliated. But 
Psammenitus only bent his eyes to the ground. When these 
water-carriers had passed by, he next sent his son, with two 
thousand Egyptians of the same age, with halters about their 
necks, and a bridle in their mouths ; and they were led out to suf- 
fer retribution for those Mitylenseans who had perished at Mem- 
phis with the ship. For the royal judges had given sentence, that 
for each man ten of the principal Egyptians should be put to death. 
Yet, when he saw them passing by, and knew that his son was 
being led out to death, though all the rest of the Egyptians who 
sat round him wept and made loud lamentations, he did the same 
as he had done in his daughter's case. But just then it happened 
that one of his boon-companions, a man somewhat advanced in 
years, who had lost his all, and possessed nothing but such things 
as a beggar has, asking alms of the soldiery, passed by Psammen- 
itus, and the Egyptians seated in the suburbs. Then, indeed, he 
wept bitterly, and calling his companion by name, smote his head. 
Cambyses, surprised at this behavior, sent a messenger to say : 
•' Psammenitus, your master Cambyses inquires why, when you 
saw your daughter humiliated and your son led to execution, you 
did not bewail or lament ; and have been so highly concerned for 
a beggar, who is no way related to you, as he is informed." 
Psammenitus answered : " Son of Cyrus, the calamities of my 
family are too great to be expressed by lamentation ; but the 
griefs of my friend were worthy of tears, who, having fallen from 
abundance and prosperity, has come to beggary on the threshold 
of old age." When this answer was brought back by the mes- 
senger, it appeared to Cambyses to be well said ; and, as the Egyp- 
tians relate, Croesus wept, for he had attended Cambyses into 
Egypt, and the Persians that were present wept also ; Cambyses 
himself, touched with pity, gave immediate orders to preserve his 
son out of those who were to perish, but those who were sent 
found the son no longer alive, having been the first that suffered ; 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. 143 

but Psammenitus himself they conducted to Cambyses, with whom 
he afterward lived, without experiencing any violence. And had 
it not been suspected that he was planning innovations, he would 
probably have recovered Egypt, so as to have the government in- 
trusted to him. For the Persians are accustomed to honor the 
sons of kings, and even if they have revolted from them, sometimes 
bestow the government upon their children. Psammenitus, de- 
vising mischief, received his reward, for he was discovered inciting 
the Egyptians to revolt ; and when he was detected by Cambyses 
he was compelled to drink the blood of a bull, and died immedi- 
ately. 

Cambyses proceeded from Memphis to the city of Sais, and 
entering the palace of Amasis, commanded the dead body of 
Amasis to be brought out of the sepulchre ; he gave orders then 
to scourge it, to pull off the hair, to prick it, and to abuse it in 
every possible manner. But when they were wearied with this 
employment, for the dead body, since it was embalmed, resisted, 
and did not at all fall in pieces, Cambyses gave orders to burn it, 
commanding what is impious. For to burn the dead is on no 
account allowed by either nation : not by the Persians, for they 
consider fire to be a god, and say it is not right to offer to a god 
the dead body of a man ; nor by the Egyptians, as fire is held by 
them to be a living beast, which devours every thing it can lay 
hold of, and when it is glutted with food it expires with what it 
has consumed ; therefore, as it is their law on no account to give a 
dead body to wild beasts, for that reason they embalm them, that 
they may not lie and be eaten by worms. 

Cambyses determined to send to Elephantine for some of the 
Ichthyophagi, who understood the Ethiopian language, that he 
might despatch them as spies to Ethiopia. When the Ichthy- 
ophagi came, he despatched them to the Ethiopians, having in- 
structed them what to say, carrying presents, consisting of a purple 
cloak, a golden necklace, bracelets, an alabaster box of ointment, 
and a cask of palm wine. These Ethiopians, to whom Cambyses 
sent, are said to be the tallest and handsomest of all men ; and 



144 HERODOTUS. 

have customs different from those of other nations, especially with 
recrard to the regal power ; for they confer the sovereignty upon 
the man whom they consider to be of the largest stature, and to 
possess strength proportionate to his size. 

When the Ichthyophagi arrived among this people, they gave 
the presents to the king, and addressed him as follows : " Cam- 
byses. King of the Persians, desirous of becoming your friend and 
ally, has sent us to confer v^ith you, and he presents you with 
these gifts, which are such as he himself most delights in." But 
the Ethiopian, knowing that they came as spies, spoke thus to 
them : " Neither has the king of the Persians sent you w^ith 
presents to me, because he valued my alliance ; nor do you speak 
the truth ; for ye are come as spies of my kingdom. Nor is he a 
just man ; for if he were just, he would not desire any other terri- 
tory than his own ; nor would he reduce people into servitude 
who have done him no injury. However, give him this bow, and 
say these words to him : ' The king of the Ethiopians advises the 
king of the Persians, when the Persians can thus easily draw a 
bow of this size, then to make war on the Macrobian Ethiopians 
with more numerous forces ; but until that time let him thank the 
gods, who have not inspired the sons of the Ethiopians with a 
desire of adding another land to their own.' " Having spoken thus 
and unstrung the bow, he delivered it to the comers. Then taking 
up the purple cloak, he asked what it was, and how made ; and 
when the Ichthyophagi told him the truth respecting the purple, 
and the manner of dyeing, he said that the men are deceptive, and 
their garments are deceptive also. Next he inquired about the 
necklace and bracelets, and when the Ichthyophagi explained to 
him their use as ornaments, the king, laughing, and supposing 
them to be fetters, said that they have stronger fetters than these. 
Thirdly, he inquired about the ointment ; and when they told him 
about its composition and use, he made the same remark as he had 
on the cloak. But when he came to the wine, and inquired how it 
was made, being very much delighted with the draught, he further 
asked what food the king made use of, and what was the longest 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. H^ 

age to which a Persian lived. They answered, that he fed on 
bread, describing the nature of wheat ; and that the longest period 
of the life of a Persian was eighty years. Upon this the Ethiopian 
said, that he was not at all surprised if men who fed on earth lived 
so few years ; and he was sure they would not be able to live even 
so many years, if they did not refresh themselves with this bev- 
erage, showing the wine to the Ichthyophagi : for in this he 
admitted they were surpassed by the Persians. The Ichthyophagi 
inquiring in turn of the king concerning the life and diet of the 
Ethiopians, he said, that most of them attained to a hundred and 
twenty years, and some even exceeded that term, and that their 
food was boiled flesh, and their drink milk. When the spies 
expressed their astonishment at the number of years, he led them 
to a fountain, by washing in which they became more sleek, as if 
it had been of oil, and an odor proceeded from it as of violets. 
The water of this fountain, the spies said, is so weak, that nothing 
is able to float upon it, neither wood, nor such things as are lighter 
than wood ; but every thing sinks to the bottom. If this water is 
truly such as it is said to be, it may be they are long-lived by rea- 
son of the abundant use of it. Leaving this fountain, he con- 
ducted them to the common prison, where all were fettered with 
golden chains ; for among these Ethiopians bronze is the most rare 
and precious of all metals. After this, they visited last of all their 
sepulchres, which are said to be prepared from crystal in the fol- 
lowing manner. When they have dried the body, either as the 
Egyptians do, or in some other way, they plaster it all over with 
gypsum, and paint it, making it as much as possible to resemble 
real life ; they then put round it a hollow column made of crystal, 
which they dig up in abundance, and is easily wrought. The body 
being in the middle of the column is plainly seen, and it does not 
emit an unpleasant smell, nor is it in any way offensive ; and it is all 
visible ' as the body itself The nearest relations keep the column 
in their houses for a year, offering to it the first-fruits of all, and 

' The Egyptian mummies could only be seen in front, the back being covered by a box or 
coffin; the Ethiopian bodies could be seen all round, as the column of glass was transparent. 



146 HERODOTUS. 

performing sacrifices ; after that time they carry it out and place it 
somewhere near the city. 

When the spies returned home and reported all that had 
passed, Cambyses, in a great rage, immediately marched against 
the Ethiopians, without making any provision for the subsistence 
of his army, or once considering that he was going to carry his 
arms to the remotest parts of the world ; but, as a madman, and 
not in possession of his senses, as soon as he heard the report of 
the*Icthyophagi, he set out on his march, ordering the Greeks who 
were present to stay behind, and taking with him all his land forces. 
When the army reached Thebes, he detached about fifty thousand 
men, and ordered them to reduce the Ammonians to slavery, and 
to burn the oracular temple of Jupiter, while he with the rest of his 
army marched against the Ethiopians. But before the army had 
passed over a fifth part of the way, all the provisions that they had 
were exhausted, and the beasts of burden themselves were eaten. 
Now if Cambyses had at this juncture altered his purpose, and 
had led back his army, he would have proved himself to be a wise 
man. But he obstinately continued advancing. The soldiers 
supported life by eating herbs as long as they could gather any 
from the ground ; but when they reached the sands, some of them 
had recourse to a dreadful expedient, for taking one man in ten by 
lot, they devoured him : when Cambyses heard this, shocked at 
their eating one another, he abandoned his expedition against the 
Ethiopians, marched back and reached Thebes, after losing a great 
part of his army. From Thebes he went down to Memphis, and 
suffered the Greeks to sail away. Thus ended the expedition 
against the Ethiopians. Those who had been sent against the 
Ammonians, after having set out from Thebes, under the conduct 
of guides, are known to have reached the city Oasis, which is in- 
habited by Samians, distant seven days* march from Thebes, 
across the sands. This country in the Greek language is called the 
Island of the Blessed. But afterward none, except the Ammo- 
nians and those who have heard their report, are able to give any 
account of them ; for they neither reached the Ammonians, nor re- 



148 HERODOTUS. 

turned back. But the Ammonians make the following report : 
When they had advanced from this Oasis toward them across the 
sands, and were about half-way between them and Oasis, as they 
were taking dinner, a vehement south wind blew, carrying with it 
heaps of sand, and completely destroyed the whole army. 

When Cambyses arrived at Memphis, Apis, whom the Greeks 
call Epaphus, appeared to the Egyptians ; and when this manifes- 
tation took place, the Egyptians immediately put on their richest 
apparel, and kept festive holiday. Cambyses, seeing them thus 
occupied, and concluding that they made these rejoicings on account 
of his ill success, summoned the magistrates of Memphis ; and 
when they came into his presence, he asked " why the Egyptians 
had done nothing of the kind when he was at Memphis before, but 
did so now, when he had returned with the loss of a great part of 
his army." They answered, that their god appeared to them, who 
was accustomed to manifest himself at intervals, and that when 
he did appear, then all the Egyptians were accustomed to rejoice 
and keep a feast. Cambyses, having heard this, said they were 
liars, and put them to death. Then he summoned the priests into 
his presence, and when the priests gave the same account, he said, 
that he would find out whether a god so tractable had come among 
the Egyptians ; and commanded the priests to bring Apis to him. 
This Apis, or Epaphus, the Egyptians say, is the calf of a cow upon 
which the lightning has descended from heaven. It is black, and 
has a square spot of white on the forehead ; on the back the figure 
of an eagle ; and in the tail double hairs ; and on the tongue a 
beetle. When the priests brought Apis, Cambyses, like one almost 
out of his senses, drew his dagger, meaning to strike the belly of 
Apis, but hit the thigh ; then falling into a fit of laughter, he said to 
the priests : " Ye blockheads, are there such gods as these, consist- 
ing of blood and flesh, and sensible of steel? This, truly, is a god 
worthy of the Egyptians. But you shall not mock me with im- 
punity." Then he gave orders to scourge the priests, and kill all 
the Egyptians who should be found feasting. Apis, wounded in 
the thigh, lay and languished in the temple ; and at length, when 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. 149 

he had died of the wound, the priests buried him without the knowl- 
edge of Cambyses. 

But Cambyses, as the Egyptians say, immediately became mad 
in consequence of this atrocity, though he really was not of sound 
mind before. His first crime he committed against his brother 
Smerdis, who was born of the same father and mother ; him he 
sent back from Egypt to Persia through envy, because he alone of 
all the Persians had drawn the bow, which the Ichthyophao-i brouo-ht 
from the Ethiopian, within two fingers' breadth ; of the other Per- 
sians no one was able to do this. After the departure of Smerdis 
for Persia, Cambyses saw the following vision in his sleep : he im- 
agined that a messenger arrived from Persia and informed him that 
Smerdis was seated on the royal throne, and touched the heavens 
with his head. Upon this, fearing for himself, lest his brother 
should kill him, and reign, he sent Prexaspes, the most faithful to 
him of the Persians, to Persia, with orders to kill Smerdis. Havino- 
gone up to Susa, he killed Smerdis ; some say, when he had taken 
him out to hunt ; but others, that he led him to the Red Sea and 
drowned him. This they say was the first of the crimes of Cam- 
byses ; the second was that of marrying his own sister, who had 
accompanied him into Egypt. 

The Greeks say, that one day Cambyses made the whelp of a 
lion fight with a young dog ; and this wife was also looking on ; 
the dog being over-matched, another puppy of the same litter 
broke his chain, and came to his assistance, and thus the two dogs 
united got the better of the whelp. Cambyses was delighted at 
the sight, but she, sitting by him, shed tears. Cambyses, observing 
this, asked her why she wept. She answered, that she wept 
seeing the puppy come to the assistance of his brother, remember- 
ing Smerdis, and knowing that there was no one to avenge him. 
The Greeks say, that for this speech she was put to death by 
Cambyses. But the Egyptians say, that as they were sitting at 
table, his wife took a lettuce, stripped off its leaves, and then asked 
her husband " whether the lettuce stripped of its leaves, or thick 
with foliage, was the handsomer." He said: *' When thick with 



l5o HERODOTUS. 

foliao"e." Whereupon she remarked : " Then you have imitated 
this lettuce, in dismembering the house of Cyrus." Whereupon 
he, in rao-e, kicked her and inflicted such injuries that she died. 

Thus madly did Cambyses behave toward his own family ; 
whether on account of Apis, or from some other cause, from which, 
in many ways, misfortunes are wont to befall mankind. For Cam- 
byses is said, even from infancy, to have been afflicted with a 
certain severe malady, which some called the sacred disease.' In 
that case, it was not at all surprising that, when his body was so 
diseased, his mind should not be sound. And toward the other 
Persians he behaved madly in the following instances : for it is 
reported that he said to Prexaspes, whom he highly honored, and 
whose office it was to bring messages to him, whose son was cup- 
bearer to Cambyses, no trifling honor by any means, he is reported 
to have said : " Prexaspes, what sort of a man do the Persians 
think me? and what remarks do they make about me?" He 
answered : " Sir, you are highly extolled in every other respect, but 
they say you are too much addicted to wine." The king enraged 
cried out : " Do the Persians indeed say that, by being addicted 
to wine, I am beside myself, and am not in my senses? then their 
former words were not true." For, on a former occasion, when 
the Persians and Croesus were sitting with him, Cambyses asked, 
what sort of a man he appeared to be in comparison with his 
father Cyrus ; they answered, that he was superior to his father, 
because he held all that Cyrus possessed, and had acquired besides 
Egypt and the empire of the sea. Croesus, who was not pleased 
with this decision, spoke thus to Cambyses : " To me, O son of 
Cyrus, you do not appear comparable to your father, for you have 
not yet such a son as he left behind him." Cambyses was 
delighted at hearing this, and commended the judgment of Croesus. 
So, remembering this, he said in anger to Prexaspes : " Observe 
now yourself, whether the Persians have spoken the truth, or 
whether they who say such things are not out of their senses : for 
if I shoot that son of yours who stands under the portico, and hit 

' Epilepsy. 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMB YSES. i 5 1 

him in the heart, the Persians will appear to have said nothing to 
the purpose ; but if I miss, then say that the Persians have spoken 
the truth, and that I am not of sound mind." Having- said this, 
and bent his bow, he hit the boy ; and when the boy had fallen, 
he ordered them to open him and examine the wound ; and when 
the arrow was found in the heart, he said to the boy's father, 
laughing : " Prexaspes, it has been clearly shown to you that I am 
not mad, but that the Persians are out of their senses. Now tell 
me, did you ever see a man take so true an aim? " But Prexaspes, 
perceiving him to be out of his mind, and being in fear for his own 
life, said : " Sir, I believe that a god himself could not have shot 
so well." At another time, having, without any just cause, seized 
twelve Persians of the first rank, he had them buried alive up to 
the head. 

While he was acting in this manner, Croesus the Lydian 
thought fit to admonish him in the following terms : " O king, do 
not yield entirely to your youthful impulses and anger, but possess 
and restrain yourself. It is a good thing to be provident, and wise 
to have forethought. You put men to death who are your own 
subjects, having seized them without any just cause ; and you slay 
their children. If you persist in such a course, beware lest the 
Persians revolt from you. Your father Cyrus strictly charged me 
to admonish you, and suggest whatever I might discover for your 
good." He thus manifested his good-will, in giving this advice ; 
but Cambyses answered : " Do you presume to give me advice, 
you, who so wisely managed your own country ; and so well ad- 
vised my father, when you persuaded him to pass the river Araxes, 
and advance against the Massagetse, when they were willing to 
cross over into our territory? You have first ruined yourself by 
badly governing your own country, and then ruined Cyrus, who 
was persuaded by your advice. But you shall have no reason to 
rejoice ; for I have long wanted to find a pretext against you." 
So saying, he took up his bow for the purpose of shooting him ; 
but Croesus jumped up and ran out. Cambyses, unable to shoot 
him, commanded his attendants to seize him, and put him to death. 



1^)2 HERODOTUS. 

But the attendants, knowing his temper, concealed Croesus for the 
following reason, that if Cambyses should repent, and inquire for 
Croesus, they, by producing him, might receive rewards for pre- 
serving him alive; or if he should not repent, or sorrow for him, 
then they would put him to death. Not long afterward Cambyses 
did regret the loss of Croesus, whereupon the attendants acquainted 
him that he was still living ; on which Cambyses said : " I am re- 
joiced that Croesus is still alive ; they, however, who disobeyed my 
orders and saved him, shall not escape with impunity, but I will 
have them put to death." And he made good his word. 

He committed many such mad actions, both against the Persians 
and his allies, while he stayed at Memphis opening ancient sepul- 
chres, and examining the dead bodies ; he also entered the temple 
of Vulcan, and derided the image, for the image of Vulcan is 
very much like the Phoenician Pataici, \vhich the Phoenicians place 
at the prows of their triremes, and is a representation of a pigmy. 
He likewise entered the temple of the Cabeiri, (into which it is 
unlawful for any one except the priest to enter,) and these images 
he burnt, after he had ridiculed them in various ways : these also 
are like that of Vulcan ; and they say that they are the sons of this 
latter. It is in every way clear to me that Cambyses was out- 
rageously mad ; otherwise he would not have attempted to deride 
sacred things and established customs. For if any one should pro- 
pose to all men, to select the best institutions of all that exist, each, 
after considering them all, would choose his own ; so certain is it 
that each thinks his own institutions by far the best. It is not 
therefore probable, that any but a madman would make such things 
the subject of ridicule. That all men are of this mind respecting 
their own institutions may be inferred from many proofs, but is 
well illustrated by the following incident : Darius once summoned 
some Greeks under his sway, and asked them " for what sum they 
would feed upon the dead bodies of their parents." They answered, 
that they would not do it for any sum. Then Darius called to 
him some of the Indians called Callatians, who are accustomed to 
eat their parents, and asked them, in the presence of the Greeks, 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. 



10 



'' for what sum they would consent to burn their fathers when they 
die." But they made loud exclamations and begged he would 
speak words of good omen. Such then is the effect of custom : 
and Pindar appears to me to have said rightly "that custom is 
the kinof of all men." 




ATTACK ON FORT. 



Whilst Cambyses was invading Egypt, the Lacedaemonians 
made an expedition against Polycrates, who had made an insur- 
rection and seized on Samos. At first, having divided the state in- 
to three parts, he had shared it with his brothers Pantagnotus and 



1^4 . HERODOTUS. 

Syloson ; but afterward, having put one of them to death, and ex- 
pelled Syloson, the younger, he held the whole of Samos, and 
made a treaty of friendship with Amasis, King of Egypt, sendino- 
presents, and receiving others from him in return. In a very short 
time the power of Polycrates increased, and was noised abroad 
throughout Icnia and the rest of Greece ; for wherever he turned 
his arms, everything turned out prosperously. He had a hundred 
fifty-oared galleys, and a thousand archers. And he plundered all 
without distinction ; for he said that he gratified a friend more by 
restoring what he had seized, than by taking nothing at all. He 
accordingly took many of the islands, and many cities on the con- 
tinent ; he moreover overcame in a sea-fight, and took prisoners, 
the Lesbians, who came to assist the Milesians with all their forces ; 
these, being put in chains, dug the whole trench that surrounds the 
walls of Samos. 

The Lacedaemonians, arriving with a great armament, besieged 
Samos, attacked the fortifications, and passed beyond the tower 
that faced the sea near the suburbs ; but afterward, when Polycra- 
tes himself advanced with a large force, they were driven back, 
and after forty days had been spent in besieging Samos, finding 
their affairs were not at all advanced, they returned to Peloponnesus ; 
though a groundless report got abroad, that Polycrates coined a 
large quantity of the money of the country in lead, had it gilt, and 
gave it it to them ; whereupon they took their departure. This 
was the first expedition that the Lacedaemonian Dorians undertook 
against Asia. 

Those of the Samians who had fomented the war against Polyc- 
rates set sail for Siphnus when the Lacedaemonians were about to 
abandon them, for they were in want of money. The Siphnians 
were at that time the richest of all the islanders, having such gold 
and silver mines, that from the tenth of the money accruing from 
them, a treasure was laid up at Delphi equal to the richest ; and 
they used every year to divide the product of the mines. When 
they established this treasure, they asked the oracle, whether their 
present prosperity would continue with them for a long time ; but 



EXPEDITIONS OF CAMBYSES. 



l55 



the Pythian answered as follows : " When the Prytaneum in Siph- 
nus shall be white, and the market white-fronted, then shall there 
be need of a prudent man to guard against a wooden ambush and 
a crimson herald." The market and Prytaneum of the Siphnians 
were then adorned with Parian marble. As soon as the Samians 
reached Siphnus, they sent ambassadors to the city in a ship which, 
like all ships at that time, was painted red. And this was what 
the Pythian meant by a wooden ambush and a crimson herald. 




THE OBELISK. 



These ambassadors requested the Siphnians to lend them ten 
talents ; the Siphnians refused the loan, and the Samians proceeded 
to ravage their territory. The Siphnians were beaten, and com- 
pelled to give a hundred talents. 

I have dwelt longer on the affairs of the Samians, because they 
have the three greatest works that have been accomplished by all 
the Greeks. The first is a mountain, one hundred and fifty 



1 56 HERODOTUS. 

orgyse in height, in which is dug a tunnel, beginning from the 
base, with an opening at each side. The length of the excavation 
is seven stades, and the height and breadth eight feet each ; 
through the whole length of it is dug another excavation twenty 
cubits deep, and three feet broad, through which the water con- 
veyed by pipes reaches the city, drawn from a copious fountain. 
The architect of this excavation was a Megarian, Eupalinus, son 
of Naustrophus. The second work is a mound in the sea round 
the harbor, in depth about one hundred orgyse ; and in length 
more than two stades. The third is a temple, the largest of all 
we have ever seen ; of this, the architect was Rhoecus, son of 
Phileus, a native. 



CHAPTER II. 

USURPATION OF SMERDIS THE MAGUS AND ACCESSION OF DARIUS. 

While Cambyses, son of Cyrus, tarried in Egypt, and was acting 
madly, two magi, who were brothers, revolted. One of these, Cam- 
byses had left steward of his palace, the other was a person 
very much like Smerdis, son of Cyrus, whom Cambyses, his own 
brother, had put to death. The magus Patizithes, having per- 
suaded this man that he would manage every thing for him, set 
him on the throne ; and sent heralds in various directions, particu- 
larly to Egypt, to proclaim to the army, that they must in future 
obey Smerdis, son of Cyrus, and not Cambyses. The herald who 
was appointed to Egypt, finding Cambyses and his army at Ecba- 
tana in Syria, stood in the midst and proclaimed what had been 
ordered by the magus. Cambyses, believing that he spoke the 
truth, and that he had himself been betrayed by Prexaspes, and 
that he, when sent to kill Smerdis, had not done so, looked 
toward Prexaspes, and said : " Prexaspes, hast thou thus performed 
the business I enjoined upon thee ? " But he answered : " Sire, it is 
not true that your brother Smerdis has revolted against you, nor that 
you can have any quarrel, great or small, with him. For I myself 
put your order into execution, and buried him with my own hands. 
I think I understand the whole matter, O king : the magi are 
the persons who have revolted against you, — Patizithes, whom you 
left steward of the palace, and his brother Smerdis." When Cam- 
byses heard the name of Smerdis, the truth of this account and of 
the dream struck him : for he fancied in his sleep that some one 
announced to him that Smerdis, seated on the royal throne, 
touched the heavens with his head. Perceiving, therefore, that he 
had destroyed his brother without a cause, he wept bitterly for 



1 58 HERODOTUS. 

him, deplored the whole calamity, and leapt upon his horse, resolv- 
ing with all speed to march to Susa against the magus. But as he 
was leaping on his horse, the chape of his sword's scabbard fell off, 
and the blade, being laid bare, struck the thigh ; wounding him in 
that part where he himself had formerly smitten the Egyptian god 
Apis. Mortally wounded, he asked what was the name of the 
city. They said it was Ecbatana. And it had been before prophe- 
sied to him from the city of Buto, that he should end his life in 
Ecbatana. He had imagined that he should die an old man in 
Ecbatana of Media, where all his treasures were ; but the oracle in 
truth meant in Ecbatana of Syria. When he had thus been 
informed of the name of the city, though smitten by misfortune, he 
returned to his right mind ; and comprehending the oracle, said : 
" Here it is fated that Cambyses, son of Cyrus, should die." 

Twenty days later he summoned the principal men of the Per- 
sians who were with him, told them his vision and his great mis- 
take, shed bitter tears, and charged them never to permit the 
government to return into the hands of the Medes. When the 
Persians saw their king weep, all rent the garments they had 
on, and gave themselves up to lamentation. Soon the bone 
became infected, the thigh mortified, and Cambyses, son of Cyrus, 
died, after he had reigned in all seven years and five months, 
having never had any children. Great incredulity stole over the 
Persians who were present, as to the story that the magi had 
possession of the government, and agreed that it must be Smerdis, 
son of Cyrus, who had risen up and seized the kingdom. Prexaspes, 
moreover, vehemently denied that he had killed Smerdis ; for it 
was not safe for him, now that Cambyses was dead, to own that 
he had killed the son of Cyrus with his own hand. 

The magus, after the death of Cambyses, relying on his having 
the same name as Smerdis the son of Cyrus, reigned securely dur- 
ing the seven months that remained to complete the eighth year 
of Cambyses ; in which time he treated all his subjects with such 
beneficence, that at his death, all the people of Asia, except the 
Persians, regretted his loss. For the magus, on assuming the 



USURPATION OF SMERDIS. 169 

sovereignty, despatched messengers to every nation he ruled over, 
and proclaimed a general exemption from military service and 
tribute for the space of three years. But in the eighth month he 
was discovered in the following manner. Otanes, son of Pharnas- 
pes, was by birth and fortune equal to the first of the Persians. 
This Otanes first suspected the magus not to be Smerdis the son 
of Cyrus, from the fact, that he never Vv^ent out of the citadel, and 
that he never summoned any of the principal men of Persia to his 
presence. Having conceived suspicion of him, he contrived the 
following artifice. Cambyses had married his daughter, whose 
name was Phsedyma ; the magus of course had her as his wife, as 
well as all the rest of the wives of Cambyses. Otanes therefore, 
sending to his daughter, inquired whether her husband was Smer- 
dis, son of Cyrus, or some other person ; she sent back word to 
him, saying that she did not know. Otanes sent a second time, 
saying : " If you do not yourself know Smerdis, son of Cyrus, then 
inquire of Atossa, for she must of necessity know her own brother." 
To this his daughter replied : " I can neither have any conversation 
with Atossa, nor see any of the women who used to live with me ; 
for as soon as this man, whoever he is, succeeded to the throne, he 
dispersed us all, assigning us separate apartments." When Otanes 
heard this, the matter appeared much more plain ; and he sent a 
third message to her in these words: " Daughter, it becomes you, 
being of noble birth, to undertake any peril that your father may 
require you to incur. For if this Smerdis is not the son of Cyrus, 
but the person whom I suspect, it is not fit that he should escape 
with impunity, but suffer the punishment due to his offences. Now 
follow my directions : watch your opportunity, and whenever you 
discover him to be sound asleep, touch his ears ; and if you find 
he has ears, be assured that he is Smerdis, son of Cyrus ; but if he 
has none, then he is Smerdis the mao-us." To this messagfe Phae- 
dyma answered, saying " that she should incur very great danger 
by doing so ; for he kept the sides of his head concealed, and if he 
had no ears, and she should be discovered touching him, she well 
knew that he would put her to death ; nevertheless she would 



i6o HERODOTUS. 

make the attempt." Cyrus, during his reign, had cut off the ears 
of this Smerdis the magus, for some grave offence. Phsedyma, 
therefore, determining to execute all that she had promised her 
father, catching the magus sound asleep on his couch one day felt 
for his ears, and perceiving without any difficulty that the man had 
no ears, as soon as it was day, she sent and made known to her 
father what the case was. 

Thereupon Otanes, having taken with him Aspathines and 
Gobryas, who were the noblest of the Persians, and persons on 
whom he could best rely, related to them the whole affair ; and 
they agreed that each should associate with himself a Persian in 
whom he could place most reliance. Otanes accordingly intro- 
duced Intaphernes ; Gobryas, Megabyzus ; and Aspathines, Hy- 
darnes. Just at this time Darius, son of Hystaspes, arrived at Susa 
from Persia, where his father was governor, and the six Persians 
determined to admit Darius to the confederacy. These seven 
met, exchanged pledges with each other, and conferred together. 
When it came to the turn of Darius to declare his opinion, he ad- 
dressed them as follows : " I thought that I was the only person 
who knew that it was the magus who reigns, and that Smerdis, son 
of Cyrus, is dead ; and for this very reason I hastened hither in 
order to contrive the death of the magus. But since it proves that 
you also are acquainted with the fact, it appears to me that we 
should act immediately." Otanes said to this : " Son of Hystaspes, 
you are born of a noble father, and show yourself not at all inferior 
to him ; do not, however, so inconsiderately hasten this enterprise, 
but set about it with more caution ; for we must increase our num- 
bers, and then attempt it." Darius replied to this : " Be assured, 
ye men who are here present, if you adopt the plan proposed by 
Otanes, you will all miserably perish ; for some one will discover it 
to the magus, consulting his own private advantage ; indeed, you 
ought to have carried out your project immediately, without com- 
municating it to any one else ; but since you have thought fit to 
refer it to others, and have disclosed it to me, let us carry it out 
this very day, or be assured, that if this day passes over, no one 



us URPA riON OF SMERDIS. 1 6 1 

shall be beforehand with me and become my accuser, but I myself 
will denounce you to the magus." Otanes, seeing Darius so 
eager, replied : " Since you compel us to precipitate our enter- 
prise, and will not permit us to defer it, tell us in what way we are 
to enter the palace and attack him ; for you yourself know that 
guards are stationed at intervals ; and how shall we pass them?" 
" There are many things," said Darius, " that can not be made clear 
by words, but may by action ; and there are other things that seem 
practicable in description, but no signal effect proceeds from them. 
Be assured that the guards stationed there will not be at all diffi- 
cult to pass by : for in the first place, seeing our rank, there is no 
one who will not allow us to pass, partly from respect, and partly 
from fear ; and in the next place, I have a most specious pretext 
by which we shall gain admission, for I will say that I have just 
arrived from Persia, and wish to report a message to the king from 
my father. For when a lie must be told, let it be told. Whoever 
of the doorkeepers shall willingly let us pass, shall be rewarded in 
due time ; but whoever offers to oppose us must instantly be 
treated as an enemy." After this Gobryas said : " Friends, shall 
we ever have a better opportunity to recover the sovereign power, 
or if we shall be unable to do so, to die ? seeing we who are Per- 
sians, are governed by an earless Medic magus. Those among 
you who were present with Cambyses when he lay sick, well 
remember the imprecations he uttered at the point of death against 
the Persians, if they should not attempt to repossess themselves of 
the sovereign power : we did not then believe this story, but 
thought that Cambyses spoke from ill-will. I give my voice that 
we yield to Darius, and that on breaking up this conference we go 
direct to the magus." And all assented to his proposal. 

Meantime the magi, on consultation, determined to make Prex- 
aspes their friend : both because he had suffered grievous wrong 
from Cambyses, who shot his son dead with an arrow ; and because 
he alone of all the Persians knew of the death of Smerdis, son of 
Cyrus, as he had despatched him with his own hand ; and more- 
over, Prexaspes was in high repute with the Persians. There- 



1 62 HERODOTUS. 

fore, having sent for Prexaspes, they endeavored to win his friend- 
ship, binding him by pledges and oaths, that he would never divulge 
to any man the cheat they had put upon the Persians, assuring him 
that in return they would give him every thing his heart could 
desire. When Prexaspes had promised that he would do as the 
magi wished, they made a second proposal, saying, that they would 
assemble all the Persians under the walls of the palace, and desired 
that he would ascend a tower, and assure them that they were 
governed by Smerdis, son of Cyrus. Prexaspes assented, and the 
magi, having convoked the Persians, placed him on the top of a 
turret, and commanded him to harangue the people. But he pur- 
posely forgot what they desired him to say, and, beginning from 
Achsemenes, described the genealogy of Cyrus' family ; told them 
what great benefits Cyrus had done the Persians ; and finally de- 
clared the whole truth, saying that he had before concealed it, as 
it was not safe for him to tell what had happened ; but that in the 
present emergency necessity constrained him to make it known. 
He accordingly told them that he, being compelled by Cambyses, 
had put Smerdis, son of Cyrus, to death, and that it was the magi 
who then reigned. After he had uttered many imprecations against 
the Persians, if they should not recover back the sovereign power, 
and punish the magi, he threw himself headlong from the tower. 
Thus died Prexaspes, a man highly esteemed during the course 
of his whole life. 

The seven Persians, resolving to attack the magi without delay, 
had offered prayers to the gods, and were in the midst of their way 
when they were informed of all that Prexaspes had done, where- 
upon they again conferred together ; and some, with Otanes, strongly 
advised to defer the enterprise while affairs were in such a ferment; 
but others, with Darius, urged to proceed at once. While hotly 
disputing there appeared seven pairs of hawks pursuing two pairs 
of vultures, and plucking and tearing them. The seven, on seeing 
this, all approved the opinion of Darius, and forthwith proceeded to 
the palace, emboldened by the omen. When they approached the 
gates, it happened as Darius had supposed ; for the guards, out of 




MAMELUKE TOMB, CAIRO. 



1 64 HERODOTUS. 

respect for men of highest rank among the Persians, and not sus- 
specting any such design on their part, let them pass by, moved as 
they were by divine impulse ; nor did any one question them. But 
when they reached the hall, they fell in with the eunuchs appointed 
to carry in messages, who inquired of them for what purpose they 
had come ; and at the same time that they questioned them they 
threatened the doorkeepers for permitting them to pass, and en- 
deavored to prevent the seven from proceeding any farther. They 
instandydrew their daggers, stabbed all that opposed their passage 
on the spot, and then rushed to the men's apartment. The magi 
happened to be both within at the time, and were consulting about 
the conduct of Prexaspes. But seeing the eunuchs in confusion, 
and hearing their outcry, they hurried out, and put themselves 
on the defensive. One snatched up a bow, and the other a javelin,, 
and the parties engaged with each other. The one who had taken 
up the bow, seeing his enemies were near and pressing upon them, 
found it of no use ; but the other made resistance with his spear, 
and first wounded Aspathines in the thigh, and next Intaphernes in 
the eye ; and Intaphernes lost his eye from the wound, but did not 
die. The other magus, when he found his bow of no service, fled 
to a chamber adjoining the men's apartment, purposing to shut ta 
the door, and two of the seven, Darius and Gobryas, rushed in with 
him ; and as Gobryas was grappling with the magus, Darius stand- 
ing by w^as in perplexity, fearing that he should strike Gobryas in 
the dark ; but Gobryas, seeing that he stood by inactive, asked him 
why he did not use his hand. He answered : " Fearing for you, lest 
I should strike you." '* Never mind," said Gobryas, " drive your 
sword through both of us." Darius obeyed, thrust with his dagger,, 
and by good fortune hit the magus. 

Having slain the magi, and cut off their heads, they left the 
wounded of their own party there, as well on account of their ex- 
haustion as to guard the acropolis ; but the other five of them, 
carrying the heads of the magi, ran out with shouting and clamor, 
and called upon the rest of the Persians, relating what they had 
done, and showing them the heads ; and at the same time they 



us URPA TJON OF SMERDIS. 1 6 5 

slew every one of the magi that came in their way. The Persians, 
informed of what had been done by the seven, and of the fraud of 
the maei. determined themselves also to do the like ; and having- 
drawn their daggers, they slew every magus they could find ; and 
if the night coming on had not prevented, they would not have left 
a single magus alive. This day the Persians observe in common 
more than any other, and in it they celebrate a great festival, which 
they call " The Slaughter of the Magi." On that day no magus is 
allowed to be seen in public. 

When the tumult had subsided, and five days had elapsed, those 
who had risen up against the magi deliberated on the state of affairs. 
Otanes advised that they should commit the government to the 
Persians at large, " for," said he, " how can a monarchy be a well- 
constituted government, where one man is allowed to do whatever 
he pleases without control ? " Megabyzus advised them to intrust 
the government to an oligarchy, and said : " Let us choose an as- 
sociation of the best men, and commit the sovereign power to them, 
for among them we ourselves shall be included, and it is reasonable 
to expect that the best counsels will proceed from the best men." 
Darius expressed his opinion the third, saying : " What Meo-a- 
byzus has said concerning the people was spoken rightly, but if 
three forms are proposed, and each the best in its kind, democracy, 
oligarchy, and monarchy, I contend that the last is far superior. 
For nothing can be found better than one man, who is the best; 
since acting upon equally wise plans, he would govern the peo- 
ple without blame, and would keep his designs most secret from the 
ill-affected. But in an oligarchy, whilst many are exerting their en- 
ergies for the public good, strong private enmities commonly spring 
up ; for each wishing to be chief, and to carry his own opinions, 
they come to deep animosities one against another, whence sedi- 
tions arise ; and from seditions, murder ; and from murder recourse 
is always had to a monarchy ; and thus it is proved that this form 
of government is the best. Also when the people rule, it is impos- 
sible that evil should not spring up, and powerful combinations, for 
they who injure the commonwealth act in concert ; and this lasts 



1 66 HERODOTUS. 

until some one of the people stands forward and puts them down ; 
and on this account, being admired by the people, he becomes a 
monarch ; this again shows that a monarchy is best. Moreover, 
we should not subvert the institutions of our ancestors, when we 
see how good they are." 

Four of the seven adhered to this opinion. Then said Otanes : 
*' Associates, since it is evident that some one of us must be made 
king, I will not enter into competition with you ; for I wish neither 
to govern nor be governed. But on this condition I give up all 
claim to the government, that neither I nor any of my posterity may 
be subject to any one of you." The six agreed to these terms, and he 
withdrew from the assembly ; and this family alone, of all the Per- 
sians, retains its liberty to this day, and yields obedience only so 
far as it pleases, but without transgressing the laws of the Persians. 
The rest of the seven consulted how they might appoint a king on 
the most equitable terms ; and they determined that Otanes and 
his posterity forever should be given a Median vest yearly, byway 
of distinction, together with all such presents as are accounted most 
honorable among the Persians, for he first advised the enterprise, 
and associated them together. And they made the resolution that 
every one of the seven should have liberty to enter into the palace 
without beine introduced, and that the kinor should not be allowed 
to marry a wife out of any other family than of the conspirators. 
With regard to the kingdom, they determined that he whose horse 
should first neigh in the suburbs at sunrise, while they were 
mounted, should have the kingdom. 

Darius had a groom, a shrewd man, whose name was CEbares, 
to whom, when the assembly had broken up, Darius said : 
•' CEbares, we have determined that he whose horse shall neigh 
first at sunrise, when we ourselves are mounted, is to have the 
kingdom. Now, if you have any ingenuity, contrive that I may 
obtain this honor, and not another." CEbares answered : " If, sir, 
it depends on this, whether you shall be king or not, keep up your 
spirits ; for no one else shall be king before you ; I know a trick 
that will make him neigh." At dawn of day, the six, as they had 



USURP A TION OF SMERDIS. 



167 



agreed, met together on horseback ; and as they were riding round 
the suburbs, Darius' horse, at the signal from CEbares, ran forward 
and neighed, and at that instant hghtning and thunder came from a 
clear sky. These things consummated the auspices, as if done by 
appointment, and the others, dismounting from their horses, did 
obeisance to Darius as king. 

Accordingly Darius, son of Hystaspes, was declared king, and 




EGYPTIAN WAR CHARIOT, WARRIOR AND HORSES. 

all the people of Asia, except the Arabians, were subject to him. 
The Arabians never submitted to the Persian yoke, but were on 
friendly terms, and gave Cambyses a free passage into Egypt ; for 
without the consent of the Arabians the Persians could not have 
penetrated into Egypt. Darius contracted his first marriages with 
Persians ; he married two daughters of Cyrus, Atossa and Arty- 
stona ; Atossa, you remember, had been before married to her 
brother Cambyses, and afterward to the magus. He married an- 



1 68 HERODOTUS. 

other also, daughter of Smerdis, son of Cyrus, whose name was 
Parmys ; and he had besides, the daughter of Otanes who detected 
the magus. His power was fully established on all sides. He 
erected a stone statue, representing a man on horseback ; and he 
had engraved on it the following inscription : " Darius, son of Hys- 
taspes, by the sagacity of his horse, (here mentioning the name,) 
and by the address of Qibares, his groom, obtained the empire 
of the Persians." In Persia, he constituted twenty governments, 
which they call satrapies ; set governors over them, and appointed 
tributes to be paid to him from each. In consequence of this im- 
position of tribute, and other things of a similar kind, the Persians 
say Darius was a trader, Cambyses a master, and Cyrus a father. 
The first, because he made profit of every thing ; the second, because 
he was severe and arrogant ; the last, because he was mild, and 
always aimed at the good of his people. If the total of all his reve- 
nues is computed together, fourteen thousand five hundred and sixty 
Euboic talents were collected by Darius as an annual tribute, ' pass- 
ing over many small sums which I do not mention. This tribute 
accrued to Darius from Asia and a small part of Libya ; but in the 
course of time another revenue accrued from the islands, and the 
inhabitants of Europe as far as Thessaly. This treasure the king 
melts and pours into earthen jars, and knocking away the earthen 
mould when he wants money he cuts off as much as he has occasion 
to use. 

The Cilicians were required to send each year to Darius three 
hundred and sixty white horses, one for every day. The Persian 
territory alone was not subject to tribute ; but the Persians brought 
gifts. The Ethiopians bordering on Egypt, whom Cambyses sub- 
dued when he marched against the Macrobian Ethiopians, and 
who dwell about the sacred city of Nysa, celebrate festivals of 
Bacchus, use the same grain as the Calantian Indians, and live 
in subterraneous dwellings. These brought every third year two 
choenices of unmolten gold, two hundred blocks of ebony, five 
Ethiopian boys, and twenty large elephants' tusks. 

* Nearly $18,000,000 in all. 



CHAPTER III. 

INDIANS, ARABIANS, AND ETHIOPIANS. 

That part of India toward the rising sun is all sand ; for of the 
people with whom we are acquainted, and of whom any thing cer- 
tain is told, the Indians live the farthest toward the east of all the 
inhabitants of Asia ; and the Indians' country toward the east is a 
desert, by reason of the sands. There are many nations of Indians, 
and they do not all speak the same language ; some of them are 
nomads, and they inhabit the marshes of the river, and feed on 
raw fish, which they take going out in boats made of bamboo, one 
joint of which makes a boat. These Indians wear a garment made 
of rushes cut from the river, beaten flat, platted like a mat, and 
worn as a corselet. Other Indians, living to the east of these, are 
nomads, and eat raw flesh ; they are called Padseans. When any 
one of this community is sick, if it be a man, the men who are his 
nearest connections put him to death, alleging that if he wasted by 
disease his flesh would be spoiled ; and no matter if he denies that he 
is sick, they are not likely to agree with him, but kill and feast upon 
him. And if a woman be sick, the women who are most intimate 
with her do the same as the men. And whoever reaches to old 
age, they sacrifice and feast upon ; but few among them succeed 
in growing old, for before that, every one that falls into any dis- 
temper is put to death. Other Indians have different customs : they 
neither kill any thing that has life, nor sow any thing, nor are they 
wont to have houses, but they live upon herbs, and have a grain of 
the size of millet, in a pod, which springs spontaneously from the 
earth ; this they gather, and boil and eat it with the pod. When 
any one of them falls ill, he goes and lies down in the desert, and 
no one takes any thought about him, whether dead or sick. All 



I70 HERODOTUS. 

these Indians whom I have mentioned have a complexion closely- 
resembling the Ethiopians. They are situated very far from the 
Persians, toward the south, and were never subject to Darius. 

Those who border on the city of Caspatyrus and the country 
of Pactyica are the most warlike of the Indians, and these are they 
who are sent to procure the gold. In this desert, and in the sand, 
there are ants in size somewhat less indeed than dogs, but larger 
than foxes. Some of them which were taken there, are in the 
possession of the king of the Persians. These ants, forming their 
habitations under ground, heap up the sand, as the ants in Greece 
do, and in the same manner ; and they are very much like them in 
shape. The sand thus heaped up is mixed with gold. The 
Indians go to the desert to get this sand, each man having three 
camels, on either side a male harnessed to draw by the side, 
and a female in the middle ; this last the man mounts himself, hav- 
ing taken care to yoke one that has been separated from her young 
as recently born as possible ; for camels are not inferior to horses 
in swiftness, and are much better able to carry burdens. What 
kind of fieure the camel has I shall not describe to the Greeks, as 
they are acquainted with it ; but what is not known respecting it I 
will mention. A camel has four thighs and four knees in his 
hinder legs. The Indians then, adopting such a plan of harnessing, 
set out for the gold, having before calculated the time, so as to be 
engaged in their plunder during the hottest part of the day, for 
during the heat the ants hide themselves under ground. Amongst 
these people the sun is hottest in the morning, and not, as with us, 
at mid-day ; during this time it scorches much more than at mid- 
day in Greece ; so that, it is said, they then refresh themselves in 
water. But as the day declines, the sun becomes to them as it is 
in the morning to others ; and after this, as it proceeds it becomes 
still colder, until sunset, then it is very cold. When the Indians 
arrive at the spot with their sacks, they fill them with the sand, 
and return as fast as possible. For the ants, as the Persians say, 
immediately discovering them by the smell, pursue them, and they 
are equalled in swiftness by no other animal, so that if the Indians 



INDIANS, ARABIANS, AND ETHIOPIANS. I?! 

did not get the start of the ants while they were assembling, not a 
man of them could be saved. Now the male camels (for they are 
inferior in speed to the females) would otherwise slacken their 
pace, dragging on, not both equally ; but the females, mindful of 
the young they have left, do not slacken their pace. Thus the 
Indians obtain the greatest part of their gold. 

The extreme parts of the inhabited world somehow possess the 
most excellent products ; while Greece enjoys by far the best-tem- 
pered climate. In India, the farthest part of the inhabited world 
toward the east, all animals, both quadrupeds and birds, are much 
larger than they are in other countries, with the exception of 
horses ; in this respect they are surpassed by the Medic breed 
called the Nyssean horses. Then there is an abundance of gold 
there, partly dug, partly brought down by the rivers, 
and partly seized in the manner I have described. 
And certain wild trees there bear wool instead of fruit, 
which in beauty and quality excels that of sheep ; 
and the Indians make their clothing from these trees. 
Again, Arabia is the farthest of inhabited countries 
toward the south ; and this is the only region in which 
grow frankincense, myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and 
ledanum. All these, except myrrh, the Arabians gather with 
difficulty. The frankincense they gather by burning styrax, which 
the Phoenicians import into Greece. Winged serpents, small 
in size, and various in form, guard the trees that bear frank- 
incense, a great number round each tree. These are the same 
serpents that invade Egypt. They are driven from the trees 
by nothing else but the smoke of the styrax. Vipers are found 
in all parts of the world ; but flying serpents in Arabia, and no- 
where else ; there they appear to be very numerous. 

The Arabians obtain the cassia, which grows in marshes or 
shallow lakes, by covering their whole body and face, except the 
eyes, with hides and skins, and thus avoiding the attacks of the 
winged animals, like bats, which infest the marshes, and screech 
fearfully, and are exceedingly fierce. The cinnamon they collect 




MILITARY DRUM. 



172 HERODOTUS. 

in a still more wonderful manner. Where it grows and what land 
produces it they are unable to tell ; except that some say it grows 
in those countries in which Bacchus was nursed. Large birds 
brings those rolls of bark, which we, from the Phoenicians, call cin- 
namon, for their nests, which are built with clay, against precipitous 
mountains, where there is no access for man. The Arabians, to 
surmount this difficulty, cut up into large pieces the limbs of dead 
oxen, and asses, and other beasts of burden, carry them to these 
spots, lay them near the nests, and retire to a distance. The birds 
fly down and carry up the limbs of the beasts to their nests, which 
not being strong enough to support the weight, break and fall to 
the ground. Then the men, coming up, gather the cinnamon, 
much of which they export to other countries. Still more wonder- 
ful is the fragrant ledanum. For it is found sticking like gum to 
the beards of he-eoats, which collect it from the wood. It is useful 
for many ointments, and the Arabians burn it very generally as a 
perfume. They are famous for their perfumes ; and there breathes 
from Arabia, as it were, a divine odor. They have two kinds of 
sheep worthy of admiration, which are seen nowhere else. One 
kind has large tails, not less than three cubits in length, which, if 
suffered to trail, would ulcerate, by the tails rubbing on the ground. 
But every shepherd knows enough of the carpenter's art to pre- 
vent this, for they make little carts and fasten them under the tails, 
binding the tail of each separate sheep to a separate cart. The 
other kind of sheep have broad tails, even to a cubit in breadth. 
Where the meridian declines' toward the setting sun, the Ethiopian 
territory extends, being the extreme part of the habitable world. 
It produces much gold, huge elephants, wild trees of all kinds, 
ebony, and men of large stature, very handsome, and long-lived. 

Such are the extremities of Asia and Libya. Concerning the 
western extremities of Europe I am unable to speak with certainty, 
for I do not admit that there is a river, called by barbarians Erida- 
nus, which discharges itself into the sea toward the north, from 
which amber is said to come ; nor am I acquainted with the 

' That is, " southwest." 



INDIANS, ARABIANS, AND ETHIOPIANS. 173 

Cassiterides islands, whence our tin comes. For in the first 
place, the name Eridanus shows that it is Grecian and not barba- 
rian, and coined by some poet ; in the next place, though I have 
diligently inquired, I have never been able to hear from any man 
who has himself seen it, that there is a sea on that side of Europe. 
However, both tin and amber come to us from the remotest parts. 
Toward the north of Europe there is evidently a very great quan- 
tity of gold, but how procured I am unable to say with certainty ; 
though it is said that the Arimaspians, a one-eyed people, steal it 
from the griffins. Nor do I believe this, that any men are born 
with one eye, and yet in other respects resemble the rest of man- 
kind. However, the extremities of the world seem to surround 
and enclose the rest of the earth, and to possess those productions 
which we account most excellent and rare. 



CHAPTER IV. 

REIGN OF DARIUS TO THE TAKING OF BABYLON. 

Of the seven men that conspired against the magus, it hap- 
pened that one of them, Intaphernes, by an act of insolence, lost 
his life shortly after the revolution. He wished to enter the palace 
in order to confer with Darius ; but the door-keeper and the mes- 
senger would not let him pass, saying, that the king was engaged, 
but Intaphernes, suspecting they told a falsehood, drew his scimetar, 
cut off their ears and noses, and having strung them to straps 
taken from his bridle, hung them round their necks, and dismissed 
them. They presented themselves to the king, and told him the 
cause for which they had been so treated. Darius, fearing lest the 
six had done this in concert, sent for them, one by one, and 
endeavored to discover whether they approved of what had been 
done. When he found that Intaphernes had not done this with 
their knowledge, he seized Intaphernes himself, and his children, 
and all his family, having many reasons to suspect that he, with his 
relations, would raise a rebellion against him. And he bound them 
as for death : but the wife of Intaphernes, going to the gates of 
the palace, wept and lamented aloud ; and prevailed on Darius to 
have compassion on her. He therefore sent a messenger to say 
as follows : " Madam, king Darius allows you to release one of 
your relations who are now in prison, whichever of them all you 
please." She deliberated, and answered : " Since the king grants 
me the life of one, I choose my brother from them all." Darius, 
wondering at her choice, asked : " Madam, the king inquires the 
reason why, leaving your husband and children, you have chosen 
that your brother should survive ; who is not so near related to 
you as your children, and less dear to you than your husband ? " 



REIGN OF DARIUS. 



1/5 



- O king," she answered, " I may have another husband if God 
will, and other children if I lose these ; but as my father and 



Signs in common use. 


Signs employed more 
rarely. 


Equivalent in English. 


<X- 


— 


A (as in father). 


«^^ 


— 


X (sounded as ee in see). 


V® 


— 


U (sounded as oo in food). 


J 


^* 


B 


■ 


■^Is 


P 


•^-^ 


- 


F 


(^ 


« 


G (deep guttural). 


— ^- 


u 


K 


# 


1- 


TrTT (sounded like the 
-^^■"■. Hebrew n). 

D 




1 


T 
M 


' "9^ 


2^^ 


:n" 




1 


L 

S 

SH 
H 


■^ 1 


3^^ 


J 




ALPHABET. 





mother are no longer alive, I cannot by any means have another 
brother; for this reason I spoke as I did." This pleased Darius 



176 ' HERODOTUS. 

SO well that he ofranted to her the one whom she asked, and also 
her eldest son ; all the rest he put to death. 

It happened not long after this that Darius, in leaping- from his 
horse while hunting, twisted his foot with such violence that the 
ankle-bone was dislocated. At first thinking he had about him 
Egyptians who had the first reputation for skill in the healing art, 
he made use of their assistance. But they, by twisting the foot, and 
using force, made the evil worse ; and from the pain which he felt, 
Darius lay seven days and seven nights without sleep. On the 
eighth day, as he still continued in a bad state, some one who had 
before heard at Sardis of the skill of Democedes the Crotonian, 
made it known to Darius; and he ordered them to bring him to him 
as quickly as possible. They found him among the slaves altogether 
neglected ; and brought him forward, dragging fetters behind him, 
and clothed in rags. As he stood before him, Darius asked him 
whether he understood the art. He denied that he did, fearinof 
lest, if he discovered himself, he should be altogether precluded from 
returning to Greece. But he appeared to Darius to dissemble, 
althouMi he was skilled in the art ; he therefore commanded those 
who had brought him thither to bring out whips and goads. 
Whereupon he owned up, saying that he did not know it perfectly, 
but having been intimate with a physician, he had some poor 
knowledge of the art. Upon which Darius put himself under his 
care, and by using Grecian medicines, and applying lenitives after 
violent remedies, he caused him to sleep, and in a little time 
restored him to his health, though Darius had begun to despair of 
ever recovering the use of his foot. After this cure, Darius 
presented him with two pairs of golden fetters ; but Democedes 
asked him, if he purposely gave him a double evil because he had 
restored him to health. Darius, pleased with the speech, intro- 
duced him to his wives, with the remark that this was the man 
who had saved the king's life ; whereupon each of them dipped 
a goblet into a chest of gold, and presented it brimful to Demo- 
cedes — so munificent a gift, that a servant named Sciton, following 
behind, picked up enough staters that fell from the goblets to make 
him a rich man. 



REIGN OF DARIUS. 177 

This Democedes had been so harshly treated at Crotona by his 
father, who was of a severe temper, that he left him and went to 
y^gina ; having settled there, in the first year, though he was un- 
provided with means, and had none of the instruments necessary 
for the exercise of his art, he surpassed the most skilful of their 
physicians. In the second year, the yEginetse engaged him for a 
talent out of the public treasury ; and in the third year the 
Athenians, for a hundred minse ; and in the fourth year Polycrates, 
for two talents ; thus he came to Samos. From this man the 
Crotonian physicians obtained a great reputation ; for at this 
period the physicians of Crotona were said to be the first through- 
out Greece, and the Cyrenaeans the second. At the same time the 
Argives were accounted the most skilful of the Greeks in the art of 
music. Democedes, having completely cured Darius at Susa, had 
a very large house, and a seat at the king's table ; and he had 
every thing he could wish for, except the liberty of returning to 
Greece. He obtained from the king a pardon for the Egyptian 
physicians who first attended the king, and were about to be em- 
paled, because they had been outdone by a Greek physician ; and 
in the next place he procured the liberty of a prophet of Elis, who 
had attended Polycrates, and lay neglected among the slaves. In 
short, Democedes had great influence with the king. 

Not long after Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, and wife to Darius, 
had a tumor on her breast ; after some time it burst, and spread 
considerably. As long as it was small, she concealed it, and from 
delicacy informed no one of it ; when it became dangerous, she 
sent for Democedes and showed it to him. He said that he could 
cure her, but exacted a solemn promise, that she in return would 
perform for him whatever he should require of her, but added that 
he would ask nothing which mi^ht brinof diso^race on her. When 
therefore he had healed her, and restored her to health, Atossa, in- 
structed by Democedes, addressed Darius, in the following words : 
" O king, you, who possess so great power, sit idle, and do not add 
any nation or power to the Persians. It is right that a man who is 
both young and master of such vast treasures should render him- 



178 HERODOTUS. 

self considerable by his actions, that the Persians may know that 
they are governed by a man. Two motives should influence you, 
to such a course : first, that the Persians may know that it is a 
worthy man who rules over them ; and secondly, that they may be 
worn in war, and not tempted by too much ease to plot against 
you. You must perform some illustrious action while you are in 
the flower of your age ; for the mind grows with the growth of the 
body, and as it grows old, grows old with it, and dull for every 
action." She spoke thus according to her instructions, and he an- 
swered : " Lady, you have mentioned the very things that I my- 
self propose to do ; for I have determined to make a bridge and 
march from this continent to the other, against the Scythians ; and 
this shall shortly be put in execution." Atossa replied : '* Give up 
the thought of marching first against the Scythians, for they will 
be in your power whenever you choose ; but take my advice, and 
lead an army into Greece ; for from the account I have heard, I am 
anxious to have Lacedaemonian, Argive, Athenian, and Corinthian 
attendants : and you have the fittest man in the world to show and 
inform you of every thing concerning Greece ; I mean the person 
who cured your foot." Said Darius : " Well, since you think I 
ought to make my first attempt against Greece, I think it better 
first to send some Persians thither as spies with the man you men- 
tion ; they, when they are informed of and have seen every par- 
ticular, will make a report to me ; and then, being thoroughly in- 
formed, I will turn my arms against them." No sooner said than 
done ; for as soon as day dawned, he summoned fifteen eminent 
Persians, and commanded them to accompany Democedes along 
the maritime parts of Greece ; and to take care that Democedes 
did not escape from them, but they must by all means bring him 
back again. He next summoned Democedes himself, and requested 
that when he should have conducted the Persians through all 
Greece, and shown it to them, to return ; he also commanded him 
to take with him all his movables as presents to his father and 
brothers, promising to give him many times as much instead. 
Moreover, he said, that for the purpose of transporting the presents 



REIGN OF DARIUS. 1 79 

he would give a merchant-ship, filled with all kinds of precious 
things, which should accompany him on his voyage. Now Darius, 
in my opinion, promised him these things without any deceitful 
intention ; but Democedes, fearing lest Darius was making trial of 
him, received all that was given, without eagerness, but said that 
he would leave his own goods where they were, that he might have 
them on his return ; the merchant-ship he said he would accept. 

In Sidon, a city of Phoenicia, they manned two triremes, and 
with them also a laro-e tradinof vessel, laden with all kinds of 
precious things ; and set sail for Greece. Keeping to the shore, 
they surveyed the coasts, and made notes in writing ; at length, 
having inspected the greatest part of it, and whatever was most re- 
markable, they proceeded to Tarentum in Italy. There, out of 
kindness toward Democedes, Aristophilides, king of the Tarentines, 
took off the rudders of the Median ships, and shut up the Persians 
as spies. While they were in this condition Democedes went to 
Crotona and when he had reached his own home, Aristophilides 
set the Persians at liberty, and restored what he had taken from 
their ships. The Persians pursuing Democedes, arrived at Crotona, 
found him in the public market, and laid hands on him. Some of 
the Crotonians, dreading the Persian power, were ready to deliver 
him up ; but others seized the Persians in turn, and beat them with 
staves, though they expostulated in these terms : " Men of Crotona, 
have a care what you do, you are rescuing a man who is a run- 
away from the king ; how will king Darius endure to be thus in- 
sulted } How can what you do end well, if you force this man 
from us } What city shall we sooner attack than this ? What 
sooner shall we endeavor to reduce to slavery ? " But they could 
not persuade the Crotonians ; so launching a small boat they sailed 
back to Asia ; nor, as they were deprived of their guide, did they 
attempt to explore Greece any further. At their departure Demo- 
cedes enjoined them to tell Darius that he had Milo's daughter 
affianced to him as his wife, for the name of Milo, the wrestler, 
stood high with the king ; and on this account it appears to me 
that Democedes spared no expense to hasten this marriage, that he 



l8o HERODOTUS. 

might appear to Darius to be a man of consequence in his own 
country. 

After these things, king Darius took Samos, first of all the 
.cities, either Grecian or barbarian, and for the following reason. 
When Cambyses, son of Cyrus, invaded Egypt, many Greeks re- 
sorted thither ; some, as one may conjecture, on account of trade ; 
others, to serve as soldiers ; others, to view the country. Of these, 
the last was Syloson, son of ^aces, brother to Polycrates, and an 
exile from Samos. The following piece of good luck befel this 
Syloson : having put on a scarlet cloak, he walked in the streets 
of Memphis ; and Darius, who was one of Cambyses' guard, and as 
yet a man of no great account, took a fancy to the cloak, and com- 
ing up, wished to purchase it. But Syloson, perceiving that Darius 
was very anxious to have the cloak, impelled by a divine impulse, 
said : "I will not sell it for any sum, but I will give it you for 
nothing, if so it must needs be." Darius accepted his offer with 
thanks and took the cloak. Syloson thought afterward that he had 
lost it through his good nature, but when, in course of time, Cam- 
byses died, and the seven rose up against the magus, and of the 
seven, Darius possessed the throne, Syloson heard that the kingdom 
had devolved on the man to whom he had given his cloak in Egypt 
on his requesting it ; so he went up to Susa and seated himself at 
the threshold of the king's palace, and said he had been a bene- 
factor to Darius. The porter reported it to the king ; who said : 
" What Greek is my benefactor, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude, 
having so lately come to the throne ? Scarcely one of them has as 
yet come here ; nor can I mention any thing that I owe to a Greek. 
However, bring him in, that I may know the meaning of what he 
says." The porter introduced Syloson, who related the story of 
the cloak, and said that he was the person who gave it. ** Most 
generous of men ! " exclaimed the king, " art thou then the man who, 
when as yet I had no power, made me a present, small as it was } 
yet the obligation is the same as if I were now to receive a thing 
of great value. In return I will give thee abundance of gold 
and silver, so that thou shalt never repent having conferred a favor 



REIGN OF DARIUS. i8i 

on Darius son of Hystaspes." To this Syloson replied : " O king, 
give me neither gold nor silver ; but recover and give me back my 
country, Samos, which now, since my brother Polycrates died by 
the hands of Orcetes, a slave of ours has posssessed. Give me 
this without bloodshed and bondage." Then Darius sent an army 
under the conduct of Otanes, one of the seven, with orders to ac- 
complish whatever Syloson should desire. 

Mseandrius held the government of Samos, having had the 
administration intrusted to him by Polycrates : though he wished 
to prove himself the most just of men, he was unable to effect his 
purpose. For when the death of Polycrates was made known to 
him, he erected an altar to Jupiter Liberator, and marked round it 
the sacred enclosure, which is now in the suburbs. Afterward, he 
summoned an assembly of all the citizens, and said : " To me, as 
you know, the sceptre and all the power of Polycrates has been in- 
trusted, and I am now able to retain the government. But what I 
condemn in another, I will myself, to the utmost of my ability, 
abstain from doing. For neither did Polycrates please me in ex- 
ercising despotic power over men equal to himself, nor would any 
other who should do the like. Now Polycrates has accomplished 
his fate ; and I, surrendering the government into your hands, pro- 
claim equality to all. I require, however, that the following remu- 
neration should be granted to myself ; that six talents should be 
given me out of the treasures of Polycrates ; and in addition, I 
claim for myself and my descendants for ever, the priesthood of 
the temple of Jupiter Liberator, to whom I have erected an altar, 
and under whose auspices I restore to you your liberties." But 
one of them rising up said, " You forsooth are not worthy to rule 
over us, being as you are a base and pestilent fellow ; rather think 
how you will render an account of the wealth that you have had 
the management of" Thus spoke a man of eminence among the 
citizens, whose name was Telesarchus. But Maeandrius, perceiv- 
ing that if he should lay down the power, some other would set 
himself up as a tyrant in his place, no longer thought of laying it 
down. To which end, when he had withdrawn to the citadel, send- 



1 82 HERODOTUS. 

ing for each one severally, as if about to give an account of the 
treasures, he seized them and put them in chains. They were kept 
in confinement ; but after this, disease attacked Maeandrius ; and 
his brother, whose name was Lycaretus, supposing that he would 
die, in order that he might the more easily possess himself of the 
government of Samos, put all the prisoners to death ; for, as it 
seems, they were not willing to be free. 

When the Persians arrived at Samos, bringing Syloson with 
them, no one raised a hand against them, and the partisans of 
Maeandrius, and Maeandrius himself, said they were ready to quit 
the island under a treaty ; and when Otanes had assented to this, 
and had ratified the agreement, the principal men of the Persians, 
having had seats placed for them, sat down opposite the citadel. 
The tyrant Maeandrius had a brother somewhat out of his senses, 
whose name was Charilaus ; he, for some fault he had committed, 
was confined in a dungeon ; and having at that time overheard what 
was doing, and having peeped through his dungeon, when he saw 
the Persians sitting quietly down, he shouted and said that he 
wished to speak with Maeandrius. Maeandrius commanded him to 
be released, and brought into his presence ; and as soon as he was 
brought there, upraiding and reviling his brother, he urged him to 
attack the Persians, saying : " Me, O vilest of men, who am your 
own brother, and have done nothing worthy of bonds, you have 
bound and adjudged to a dungeon ; but when you see the Persians 
driving you out and making you houseless, you dare not avenge 
yourself, though they are so easy to be subdued. But if you are in 
dread of them, lend me your auxiliaries, and I will punish them for 
coming here, and I am ready also to send you out of the island." 
Maeandrius accepted his offer, as I think, not that he had reached 
such a pitch of folly as to imagine that his own power could over- 
come that of the king, but rather out of envy to Syloson, if without 
a struggle he should possess himself of the city uninjured. Having 
therefore provoked the Persians, he wished to make the Samian 
power as weak as possible, and then give it up ; being well assured 
that the Persians, if they suffered any ill-treatment, would be exas- 



REIGN OF DARIUS. i8 



J 



perated against the Samians ; and knowing also that he himself had 
a safe retreat from the island, whenever he chose, for he had had a 
secret passage dug leading from the citadel to the sea. Accordingly 
Maeandrius himself sailed away from Samos ; but Charilaus armed 
all the auxilaries, threw open the gates, sallied out upon the Persians, 
who did not expect any thing of the kind, and slew those of the 
Persians who were seated in chairs, and who were the principal men 
among them. But the rest of the Persian army came to their as- 
sistance, and the auxiliaries, being hard pressed, were shut up again 
within the citadel. But Otanes, the general, when he saw that the 
Persians had suffered great loss, purposely neglected to obey the 
orders which Darius had given him at his departure, that he should 
neither kill nor take, prisoner any of the Samians, but deliver the 
island to Syloson without damage ; on the contrary, he commanded 
his army to put to death every one they met with, both man and 
child alike. Whereupon, one part of the army besieged the cita- 
del, and the rest killed every one that came in their way, all they 
met, as well within the temples as without. Mceandrius in the mean- 
time sailed to Lacedaemon, and carried with him all his treasures. 
One day when he had set out his silver and golden cups, his ser- 
vants began to clean them ; and he, at the same time, holding a 
conversation wdth Cleomenes, son of Anaxandrides, then king of 
Sparta, led him on to his house. When the king saw the cups, he 
was struck wdth wonder and astonishment ; upon which Maeandrius 
bade him take whatever he pleased, and when Maeandrius had re- 
peated this offer two or three times, Cleomenes showed himself a 
man of the highest integrity, for he refused to accept what was of- 
fered ; and being informed that by giving to other citizens he would 
gain their support, he went to the Ephori, and said that it w^ould be 
better for Sparta that this Samian stranger should quit the Pelopon- 
nesus, lest he should persuade him or some other of the Spartans 
to become base. They immediately banished Maeandrius by public 
proclamation. The Persians, having drawn Samos as with a net, 
delivered it to Syloson, utterly destitute of inhabitants. Afterward, 
however, Otanes, the general, repeopled it, in consequence of a 
vision in a dream. 



1 84 HERODOTUS. 

Whilst the naval armament was on its way to Samos, the Baby- 
lonians revolted, having very well prepared themselves. For dur- 
ing all the time the magus reigned, and the seven were rising up 
ao-ainst him, they had made preparations for a siege, and somehow 
in the confusion this had escaped observation. But when they openly 
revolted they resorted to this extraordinary means of husbanding 
their resources : gathering together all the women, except their 
mothers, and one woman apiece, besides, whom each one chose from 
his own family, they strangled them ; the one woman each man se- 
lected to cook his food, and they strangled the rest, that they might 
not consume their provisions. When Darius was informed of this, 
he collected all his forces, and marched against Babylon. But upon 
laying siege to them he found that they were not at all solicitous 
about the event, for the Babylonians mounted the ramparts, and 
danced, and derided Darius and his army, and cried : " Why sit ye 
there, Persians? will ye not be off? It will be a long day before 
you will take us." 

When the nineteenth month of the siege had passed, Zopyrus, 
son of that Megabyzus, who was one of the seven who dethroned 
the magus, went to Darius and asked him whether he deemed the 
taking of Babylon of very great importance. Learning that he 
valued it at a high price, he w^ent away and inflicted on himself 
an irremediable mutilation, for he cut off his nose and ears, chopped 
his hair in a disgraceful manner, scourged himself, and then pre- 
sented himself before .Darius. The latter was very much grieved 
when he beheld a man of high rank so mutilated, and starting from 
his throne, he shouted aloud and asked who had mutilated him, 
and for what cause. He answered : " O King, there is no man 
except yourself who could have power to treat me thus ; no 
stranger has done it, but I myself, deeming it a great indignity 
that the Assyrians should deride the Persians." " Foolish man," 
said Darius, " because you are mutilated, will the enemy sooner 
submit ? Have you lost your senses, that you have thus ruined 
yourself? " " If I had communicated to you what I was about to 
do," he answered, " you would not have permitted me, but now, if 



REIGN OF DARIUS. 



l85 



you are not wanting to your own interests, we shall take Babylon. 
For I, as I am, will desert to the city, and will tell them that I have 
been thus treated by you ; and I think that when I have persuaded 
them that such is the case, I shall obtain the command of their 
army. Do you then, on the tenth day after I shall have entered 
the city, station a thousand men of that part of your army whose 
loss you would least regret over against the gates called after 
Semiramis ; again, on the seventh day after the tenth, station two 
thousand more against the gate called from Nineveh ; and from 
the seventh day let an interval of twenty days elapse, and then 
place four thousand more against the gate called from the Chal- 




INFANTRY DRILLED BY SERGEANT. 



dseans ; but let them carry no defensive arms except swords. 
After the twentieth day, command the rest of the army to invest 
the wall on all sides, but station the Persians for me at those called 
the Belidian and Cissian gates ; for, as I think, when I have per- 
formed great exploits, the Babylonians will intrust every thing to 
me, and, moreover, the keys of the gates, and then it will be mine 
and the Persians' care to do what remains to be done. 

Having given these injunctions, he went to the gates, turning 
round as if he were really a deserter. Those who were stationed 
in that quarter, seeing him from the turrets, ran down and opened 



1 86 HERODOTUS 

one door of the gate a little, and asked him who he was, and for 
what purpose he came. He told them that he was Zopyrus, and 
had deserted to them : the door-keepers then conducted him to 
the assembly of the Babylonians, and standing before them he de- 
plored his condition, saying that he had suffered from Darius these 
injuries, and that he was so treated because he had advised to raise 
the siege, since there appeared no means of taking the city. 
" Now, therefore," he said, ** I come to you, O Babylonians, as 
your greatest blessing ; and to Darius, his army, and the Persians, 
the greatest mischief; for he shall not escape with impunity, 
having thus mutilated me ; and I am acquainted with all his 
designs." And the Babylonians, seeing a man of distinction 
amono- the Persians deprived of his ears and nose, and covered 
with stripes and blood, thoroughly believing that he spoke the 
truth, and that he had come as an ally to them, were ready to in- 
trust him with whatever he should ask ; and he, having obtained 
the command of the forces, acted as he had preconcerted with 
Darius ; for on the tenth he led out the army of the Babylonians, 
and surrounded the thousand whom he had instructed Darius to 
station there, and cut them all in pieces. Then the Babylonians, 
perceiving that he performed deeds such as he promised, were 
ready to obey him in every thing. He then suffered the appointed 
number of days to elapse, and again selected a body of Baby- 
lonians, led them out, and slaughtered the two thousand of Darius' 
soldiers. The Babylonians witnessing this action also, all had the 
praises of Zopyrus on their tongues. Then he again, after the 
appointed number of days had elapsed, led out his troops according 
to the setded plan, surrounded the four thousand, and cut them in 
pieces. And when he had accomplished this, Zopyrus was every 
thing to the Babylonians, and was appointed commander-in-chief 
and guardian of the walls. But when Darius, according to agree- 
ment, invested the wall all round, then Zopyrus discovered his 
whole treachery ; for while the Babylonians, mounting the wall, 
repelled the army of Darius that was attacking them, Zopyrus 
opened the Cissian and Belidian gates and led the Persians within 



REIGN OF DARIUS. 



187 



the wall. Those of the Babylonians who saw what was done, fled 
into the temple of Jupiter Belus ; and those who did not see it, re- 
mained each at his post, until they also discovered that they had 
been betrayed. 

Thus Babylon was taken a second time. But when Darius had 
made himself master of the Babylonians, first of all, he demolished 
the walls and bore away all the 
gates, for when Cyrus had taken 
Babylon before, he did neither 
of these things ; and secondly, 
Darius impaled about three thou- 
sand of the principal citizens, and 
allowed the rest of the Babyloni- 
ans to inhabit the city. And that 
the Babylonians might have 
wives to take the place of those 
they had strangled, Darius order- 
ed the neighboring provinces to 
send women to Babylon, taxing 
each at a certain number, so that 

a total of fifty thousand women came together ; and from these the 
Babylonians ofour time are descended. No Persian, in the opinion 
of Darius, either of those who came after, or who lived before, sur- 
passed Zopyrus in great achievements, Cyrus only excepted ; for with 
him no Persian ever ventured to compare himself. It is also reported 
that Darius frequently expressed this opinion, that he would rather 
Zopyrus had not suffered such ignominious treatment than acquire 
twenty Babylons in addition to that he had. And he honored him 
exceedingly ; for he every year presented him with those gifts 
which are most prized by the Persians, and he assigned him Baby- 
lon to hold free from taxes during his life. 




LIGHT ARMED TROOPS MARCHING. 



BOOK IV. MELPOMENE. 



CHAPTER I. 

DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA AND THE NEIGHBORING NATIONS. 

After the capture of Babylon, Darius made an expedition 
against the Scythians, for as Asia was flourishing in men, and 
large revenues came in, Darius was desirous of revenging himself 
upon the Scythians, because they had formerly invaded the Median 
territory, and defeated in battle those that opposed them. For the 
Scythians ruled over Upper Asia for twenty-eight years. But 
when those Scythians returned to their own country, after such an 
interval, a task no less than the invasion of Media awaited them ; 
for they found an army of no inconsiderable force ready to oppose 
them ; the wives of the Scythians, seeing their husbands were a 
long time absent, had married their slaves. The Scythians deprive 
all their slaves of sight for the sake of the milk which they drink, 
doing as follows : when they have taken bone tubes very like 
flutes, they thrust them into the veins of the mares, and blow with 
their mouth ; while some blow, others milk. They say they do 
this because the veins of the mare, being inflated, become filled, 
and the udder is depressed. When they have finished milking, 
they pour the milk into hollow wooden vessels, and having placed 
the blind men round about the vessels, they agitate the milk : then 
they skim off that which swims on the surface, considering it the 
most valuable, but that which subsides is of less value than the 
other. On this account the Scythians put out the eyes of every 
prisoner they take ; for they are not agriculturists, but feeders of 



DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA. 1 89 

cattle. From these slaves then and the women a race of youths 
had grown up, who, when they knew their own extraction, opposed 
those who were returning from Media. And first they cut off the 
country by digging a wide ditch, stretching from Mount Taurus to 
the lake Maeotis, which is of great extent, and afterward encamping 
opposite, they came to an engagement with the Scythians, who were 
endeavoring to enter. When several battles had been fought, and 
the Scythians were unable to obtain any advantage, one of them 
said : " Men of Scythia, what are we doing ? by fighting with our 
slaves not only are we ourselves by being slain becoming fewer in 
number, but by killing them we shall hereafter have fewer to rule 
over. So it seems to me that we should lay aside our spears and 
bows, and that every one, taking a horsewhip, should go dircetly 
to them ; for so long as they saw us with arms, they considered 
themselves equal to us, and born of equal birth ; but when they 
shall see us with our whips instead of arms, they will soon learn 
that they are our slaves, and will no longer resist." The Scythians 
adopted the advice on the spot ; and the slaves, struck with aston- 
ishment, forgot to fight, and fled. 

As the Scythians say, theirs is the most recent of all nations. 
The first man that appeared in this country, which was a wilder- 
ness, was named Targitaus ; they say that the parents of this Tar- 
gitaus, in my opinion relating what is incredible, were Jupiter and 
a daughter of the river Borysthenes ; and that Targitaus had three 
sons, who went by the names of Lipoxais, Apovais, and Colaxais ; 
that during their reign a plough, a yoke, an axe, and a bowl of 
golden workmanship, dropping down from heaven, fell on the 
Scythian territory ; that the eldest, seeing them first, approached, 
intending to take them up, but as he came near, the gold began to 
burn ; when he had retired the second went up, and it did the 
same again ; but when the youngest approached, the burning 
gold became extinguished, and he carried the things home 
with him ; and the elder brothers, in consequence of this, giving 
way, surrendered the whole authority to Alaxais the youngest. 
The Scythians reckon the whole number of years from their begin- 



I90 HERODOTUS. 

ning, from King Targitaus to the time that Darius crossed over 
against them, to be just a thousand years. This sacred gold the 
kino-s watch with the greatest care, and annually approach it with 
magnificent sacrifices to render it propitious. If he who has the 
sacred gold happens to fall asleep in the open air on the festival, 
the Scythians say he cannot survive the year, and on this account 
they give him as much land as he can ride round on horseback in 
one day. The country being very extensive, Colaxais established 
three of the kingdoms for his sons, and made that one the largest 
in which the gold Is kept. The parts beyond the north of the 
inhabited districts the Scythians say can neither be seen nor passed 
through, by reason of the feathers shed there ; for the earth and 
air are so full of feathers that the view is intercepted. With 
respect to these feathers I entertain the following opinion : in the 
upper parts of this country it continually snows, less in summer 
than in winter, as is reasonable ; now, whoever has seen snow 
falling thick near him, will know what I mean ; for snow is like 
feathers ; and on account of the winter being so severe, the north- 
ern parts of this continent are uninhabited. 

Such is the account the Scythians give of themselves, and of 
the country above them ; but the Greeks who inhabit Pontus give 
the following account : they say that Hercules, as he was driving 
away the herds of Geryon, arrived in this country, which was then 
a desert, and that Geryon, fixing his abode outside the Pontus, 
inhabited the island which the Greeks call Erythia, situated near 
Gades, beyond the columns of Hercules in the ocean. The ocean, 
they say, beginning from the sunrise, flows round the whole earth, 
that Hercules thence came to the country now called Scythia, and 
as a storm and frost overtook him, he drew his lion's skin over 
him, and went to sleep ; and in the meanwhile, his mares, which 
were feeding apart from his chariot, vanished by some divine 
chance. They add that when Hercules awoke, he sought for 
them ; and that having gone over the whole country, he at length 
came to the land called Hylsea ; there he found a monster, having 
two natures, half virgin, half viper, of which the upper parts resem- 



DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA. 191 

bled a woman, and the lower parts a serpent : in astonishment he 
asked her if she had anywhere seen his strayed mares. She said 
that she herself had them, and would not restore them to him 
unless he would make her his wife. Hercules agreed. She, how- 
ever, delayed giving back the mares, out of a desire to detain Her- 
cules as long as she could ; but as he was desirous of recovering 
them and departing, she at last restored the mares, saying : 
"These mares that strayed hither I preserved for you, but 
now that you will go away and leave me, tell me what I 
must do with our three sons when they are grown up ; shall 
I establish them here, for I possess the rule over this coun- 
try, or shall I send them to you ? " He replied : " When you 
see the children arrived at the age of men, you cannot err if you 
do this : whichever of them you see able thus to bend this bow, 
and thus girding himself with this girdle, make him an inhabitant 
of this country ; and whichever fails in these tasks which I 
enjoin, send out of the country. If you do this you will please 
yourself and do wisely." Then having drawn out one of his bows, 
for Hercules carried two at that time, and having shown her the 
belt, he gave her both the bov/ and the belt, which had a golden 
cup at the extremity of the clasp, and departed. When the sons 
had attained to the age of men she gave them names ; to the first, 
Agathyrsis, to the second, Gelonus, and to the youngest, Scythes ; 
and, in the next place, she did what had been enjoined ; and two 
of her sons, Agathyrsis and Gelonus, being unable to come up to 
the proposed task, left the country, being expelled by their mother ; 
but the youngest of them, Scythes, having accomplished it, re- 
mained there. From this Scythes, son of Hercules, are descended 
those who have been successively kings of the Scythians ; and 
from the cup, the Scythians even to tliis day wear cups hung from 
their belts. 

Aristeas, of Proconnesus, says in his epic verses, that, inspired 
by Apollo, he came to the Issedones ; that beyond the Issedones 
dwell the Arimaspians, a people that have only one eye ; beyond 
them the gold-guarding griffins ; and beyond these the Hyper- 



192 HERODOTUS. 

boreans, who reach to the sea : that all these, except the Hyper- 
boreans, beginning from the Arimaspians, continually encroached 
upon their neighbors ; that the Issedones were expelled from their 
country by the Arimaspians, the Scythians by the Issedones, and 
that the Cimmerians, who inhabited on the South Sea, being pressed 
by the Scythians, abandoned their country. 

No one knows with certainty what is beyond the country about 
which this account speaks. But as far as we have been able to arrive 
at the truth with accuracy from hearsay, the whole shall be related. 
From the port of the Borysthenits, for this is the most central part 
of the sea-coast of all Scythia, the first people are the Callipidae, 
being Greek- Scythians; beyond these is another nation called Ala- 
zones. These and the Callipidse, in other respects, follow the usages, 
of the Scythians, but they both sow and feed on wheat, onions, garlic, 
lentils, and millet ; but beyond the Alazones dwell husbandmen, 
who do not sow wheat for food but for sale. Beyond these the 
Neuri dwell ; and to the north of the Neuri the country is utterly 
uninhabited, as far as I know. These nations are by the side of 
the river Hypanis, to the west of the Borysthenes. But if one 
crosses the Borysthenes, the first country from the sea is Hylaea ; 
and from this higher up live Scythian agriculturists, where the 
Greeks setded on the river Hypanis. These Scythian husband- 
men occupy the country eastward, for three days' journey, extend- 
ing to the river whose name is Panticapes ; and northward a pas- 
sage of eleven days up the Borysthenes. Beyond this region 
the country is a desert for a great distance ; and beyond the 
desert Androphagi dwell, who are a distinct people, not in any re- 
spect Scythian. Beyond this is really desert, and no nation of 
men is found there, as far as we know. The country eastward of 
these Scythian agriculturists, when one crosses the river Panticapes, 
nomads occupy, who neither sow at all nor plough ; and all this 
country is destitute of trees except Hylsea. The nomads occupy 
a tract eastward for fourteen days' journey, stretching to the river 
Gerrhus. Beyond the Gerrhus are the parts called the Royal, and 
the most valiant and numerous of the Scythians, who deem all 



DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA. 193 

other Scythians to be their slaves. These extend southward to 
Taurica, and eastward to the trench, which those sprung from the 
bhnd men dug, and to the port on the lake Mseotis, which is called 
Cremni, and some of them reach to the river Tanais. The parts 
above to the north of the Royal Scythians, the Melanchlseni in- 
.habit, a distinct race, and not Scythian. But above the Melan- 
chlaeni are lakes, and an uninhabited desert, as far as we know. 

After one crosses the river Tanais, it is no longer Scythian, but 
the first region belongs to the Sauromatse, who, beginning from 
the recess of the lake Maeotis, occupy the country northward, for 
a fifteen days' journey, all destitute both of wild and cultivated 
trees. Above these dwell the Budini, occupying the second re- 
gion, and possessing a country thickly covered with all sorts of 
trees. Above the Budini, toward the north, there is first a desert 
of seven days' journey, and next to the desert, if one turns some- 
what toward the east, dwell the Thyssagetse, a numerous and dis- 
tinct race, and they live by hunting. Contiguous to these, in the 
same regions, dwell those who are called lyrcse, who also live by 
hunting in the following manner : the huntsman, having climbed a 
tree, lies in ambush (and the whole country is thickly wooded), 
and each man has a horse ready taught to lie on his belly, that he 
may not be much above the ground, and a dog' besides. When 
he sees any game from the tree, having let fly an arrow, he mounts 
his horse, and goes in pursuit, and the dog keeps close to him. 
Above these, as one bends toward the east, dwell other Scythians, 
who revolted from the Royal Scythians, and so came to this 
country. As far as the territory of these Scythians, the whole 
country that has been described is level and deep-soiled ; but after 
this it is stony and rugged. When one has passed through 
a considerable extent of the rugged country, a people are found 
living at the foot of lofty mountains, who are said to be all bald 
from their birth, both men and women, and are flat-nosed, and have 
large chins ; they speak a peculiar language, wear the Scythian 
costume, and live on the fruit of a tree ; the name of the tree on 
which they live is called ponticon, and is about the size of a fig- 



194 HERODOTUS. 

tree ; it bears fruit like a bean, and has a stone. When this is 
ripe they strain it througli a cloth, and a thick and black liquor 
flows from it, to which they give the name of aschy ; this they suck, 
and drink mingled with milk ; from the thick sediment of the pulp 
they make cakes to eat, for they have not many cattle in these 
parts, as the pastures there are not good. Every man lives under 
a tree, which, in the winter, he covers with a thick white woollen 
coverino-. No man does any injury to this people, for they are 
accounted sacred ; nor do they possess any warlike weapon. 
They determine by arbitration the differences that arise among 
their neighbors ; and whoever takes refuge among them is injured 
by no one. They are called Argippaei. 

As far, then, as these bald people, our knowledge respecting 
the country and the nations before them is very good, for some 
Scythians frequently go there from whom it is not difficult to ob- 
tain information, as well as some Greeks belonging to the ports in 
Pontus. The Scythians who go to them transact business by 
means of seven interpreters and seven languages, but beyond the 
bald men no one can speak with certainty, for lofty and impassable 
mountains form their boundary, which no one has ever crossed ; 
but these bald men say, what to me is incredible, that men with 
goats' feet inhabit these mountains ; and when one has passed be- 
yond them, other men are found, who sleep six months at a time, 
but this I do not at all admit. However, the country eastward of 
the bald men is well known, being inhabited by Lsedones, who 
are said to observe this extraordinary custom. When a man's 
father dies all his relations bring cattle, which they sacrifice, and, 
having cut up the flesh, they cut up also the dead parent of their 
host, and mingling all the flesh together, they spread out a ban- 
quet ; then making bare and cleansing his head they gild it ; and 
afterward treat it as a sacred image, performing grand annual sac- 
rifices to it. A son does this to his father, as the Greeks celebrate 
the anniversary of their father's death. These people are likewise 
accounted just ; and the women have equal authority with the 
men. 



DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA. IqS 

Above them, the Issedones affirm, are the men with only one 
eye, and the gold-guarding griffins. The Scythians repeat this 
account, having received it from them ; and we have adopted it 
from the Scythians, and call them in the Scythian language, Ari- 
maspi ; for Arima, in the Scythian language, signifies one, and 
Spou, the eye. All this country which I have been speaking of ir, 
subject to such a severe winter, that for eight months the frost is 
intolerable, so that if you pour water on the ground you will not 
make mud, but if you light a fire you will. Even the sea freezes, 
and the whole Cimmerian Bosphorus ; and the Scythians who live 
within the trench lead their armies and drive their chariots over 
the ice to the Sindians, on the other side. Thus wnnter con- 
tinues eight months, and even during the other four it is cold there. 
And this winter is different in character from the v/inters in all 
other countries ; for in this no rain worth mentioning falls in the 
usual season, but durinof the summer it never leaves off rainine. 
At the time when there is thunder elsewhere there is none there, 
but in summer it is violent : if there should be thunder in winter, 
it is counted a prodigy to be wondered at. So, should there be 
an earthquake, whether in summer or winter, in Scythia it is ac- 
counted a prodigy. Their horses endure this cold, but asses and 
mules cannot endure it at all ; whereas in other places in the world 
horses that stand exposed to frost become frost-bitten and waste 
away, but asses and mules endure it. On this account also the 
race of beeves appears to me to be defective there, and not to have 
horns ; and the following verse of Homer, in his Odyssey, confirms 
my opinion : " And Libya, where the lambs soon put forth their 
horns," rightly observing, that in warm climates horns shoot out 
quickly ; but in very severe cold, the cattle do not produce them 
at all, or with difficulty. Concerning the Hyperboreans, I do not 
relate the story of Abaris, who was said to have carried an arrow 
round the whole earth without eating any thing. But I smile 
when I see many persons describing the circumference of the earth, 
who have no sound reason to guide them ; they describe the ocean 
as flowing around the earth, which is made circular as if by a lathe, 
and make Asia equal to Europe. 



196 HERODOTUS. 

In length Europe extends along both Libya and Asia, but in 
respect to width, it is evidently much larger. Libya shows itself 
to be surrounded by water, except so much of it as borders upon 
Asia. Neco, King of Egypt, was the first whom Ave know of that 
proved this ; when he had ceased digging the canal leading from 
the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, he sent certain Phoenicians in ships, 
with orders to sail back through the pillars of Hercules into the 
Mediterranean Sea, and so return to Egypt. The Phoenicians ac- 
cordingly, setting out from the Red Sea, navigated the southern 
sea ; when autumn came they went ashore and sowed the land, by 
whatever part of Libya they happened to be sailing, and waited 
for harvest ; then having reaped the corn, they put to sea again. 
When two years had thus passed, in the third they doubled the 
pillars of Hercules, arrived in Egypt, and related what to me does 
not seem credible, but may to others, that as they sailed round 
Libya, they had the sun on their right hand.' Ever since that the 
Carthaginians say that Libya is surrounded by water. 

A great part of Asia was explored under the direction of 
Darius. Being desirous to know where the Indus, which is the 
second river that produces crocodiles, discharges itself into the sea, 
he sent in ships Scylax of Caryanda and others on whom he could 
rely to make a true report. They accordingly set out from the 
city of Caspatyrus, sailed down the river toward the sunrise to the 
sea ; then sailing on the sea westward, they arrived in the thirtieth 
month at that place where the king of Egypt despatched the 
Phoenicians, whom I before mentioned, to sail round Libya. After 
this Darius subdued the Indians, and frequented this sea. Thus 
the other parts of Asia, except toward the rising sun, are found to 
exhibit things similar to Libya. 

Whether Europe is surrounded by water either toward the east 
or toward the north, has not been fully discovered by any man ; 
but in length it is known to extend beyond both the other conti- 
nents. Nor can I conjecture for what reason three different names 
have been given to the earth, which is but one, and why those 

* Herodotus means that south of the equator the sun was in the north. 



DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA. 1 97 

should be derived from the names of women, Libya is said by 
most of the Greeks to take its name from a native woman of the 
name of Libya ; and Asia, from the v/ife of Prometheus. But the 
Lydians claim this name, saying that Asia was so called after 
Asius, son of Cotys, son of Manes, and not after Asia the wife of 
Prometheus ; from whom also a tribe in Sardis is called the Asian 
tribe ; nor is it clear whence Europe received its name, nor who 
gave it, unless we say that the region received the name from the 
Tyrian Europa : yet she evidently belonged to Asia, and never 
came into the country which is now called Europe by the Greeks. 

The Euxine Sea exhibits the most ignorant nations : for we are 
unable to mention any one nation of those on this side the Pontus 
that has any pretensions to intelligence ; nor have we ever heard 
of any learned man among them, except the Scythian nation and 
Anacharsis. By the Scythian nation one of the most important of 
human devices has been contrived more wisely than by any others 
whom we know ; their other customs, however, I do not admire. 
This device has been contrived so that no one who attacks them 
can escape ; and that, if they do not choose to be found, no one is 
able to overtake them. For they have neither cities nor fortifica- 
tions, but carry their houses with them ; they are all equestrian 
archers, living not from the cultivation of the earth, but from 
cattle, and their dwellings are wagons, — how must not such a 
people be invincible, and difficult to engage with ? The country 
and the rivers aid them : for the country, being level, abounds in 
herbage and is well watered ; and rivers flow through it almost as 
numerous as the canals in Egypt. The Ister, which is the great- 
est of all the rivers we know, flows always with an equal stream 
both in summer and winter, and has five mouths. 

In each district of the Scythians, in the place where the magis- 
trates assemble, is erected a structure sacred to Mars, of the fol- 
lowing kind. Bundles of faggots are heaped up to the length and 
breadth of three stades, but less in height ; on the top of this a 
square platform is formed ; and three of the sides are perpendicu- 
lar, but on the fourth it is accessible. Every year they heap on it 



198 HERODOTUS. 

one hundred and fifty wagon-loads of faggots, for it is continually 
sinkino- by reason of the weather. On this heap an old iron 
scimetar is placed by each tribe, and this is the image of Mars ; 
they bring yearly sacrifices of cattle and horses ; and to these 
sciindars they offer more sacrifices than to the rest of the gods. 
Whatever enemies they take alive, of these they sacrifice one in a 
hundred, not in the same manner as they do the cattle, but in a 
different manner ; for after they have poured a libation of wine on 
their heads, they cut the throats of the men over a bowl ; then 
havincr carried the bowl on the heap of faggots, they pour the blood 
over the scimetar. Below at the sacred precinct, they do as fol- 
lows : having cut off all the right shoulders of the men that have 
been killed, with the arms, they throw them into the air ; and then, 
havino- finished the rest of the sacrificial rites, they depart ; but 
the arm lies wherever it has fallen, and the body apart. Swine 
they never use, nor suffer them to be used in their country at all. 

When a Scythian overthrows his first enemy, he drinks his 
blood ; and presents the king with the heads of the enemies he 
has killed in battle ; for if he brings a head, he shares the booty 
that they take ; but not, if he does not bring one. He skins it in 
the following manner. Having made a circular incision round the 
ears and taking hold of the skin, he shakes it from the skull ; then 
having scraped off the flesh with the rib of an ox, he softens the 
skin with his hands, makes it supple, and uses it as a napkin ; each 
man hangs it on the bridle of the horse which he rides, and prides 
himself on it ; for whoever has the greatest number of these skin 
napkins is accounted the most valiant man. Many of them make 
cloaks of these skins, to throw over themselves, sewing them 
together like shepherd's coats ; and many, having flayed the right 
hands of their enemies that are dead, together with the nails, make 
coverings for their quivers ; the skin of a man, which is both thick 
and shining, surpasses almost all other skins in the brightness of 
its white. Many, having flayed men whole, and stretched the skin 
on wood, carry it about on horseback. The heads themselves, not 
indeed of all, but of their greatest enemies, they treat as follows : 



DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA. 199 

each, having sawn off all below the eye-brows, cleanses it, and if 
the man is poor, he covers only the outside with leather, and so 
uses it; but if he is rich, he covers it with leather, and gilds the 
inside, and so uses it for a drinking-cup. They do this also to 
their relatives, if they are at variance, and one prevails over 
another in the presence of the king. When strangers of consider- 
ation come to him, he produces these heads, and relates how, 
though they were his relatives, they made war against him, and he 
overcame them, considering this a proof of bravery. Once in 
every year, the governor of a district, each in his own district, 
mingles a bowl of wine, from which those Scythians drink by 
whom enemies have been captured ; but they who have not 
achieved this, do not taste of this wine, but sit at a distance in dis- 
honor ; this is accounted the greatest disgrace : such of them as 
have killed very many men, having two cups at once, drink them 
tocrether. 

Soothsayers among the Scythians are numerous, who divine by 
the help of a number of willow rods, in the following manner. 
They lay large bundles of twigs on the ground and untie them ; 
and having placed each rod apart, they utter their predictions ; 
and whilst they are pronouncing them, they gather up the rods 
again, and put them together again one by one. This is their 
national mode of divination. But the Enarees, or Androgyni, say 
that Venus gave them the power of divining by means of the bark 
of a linden tree : when a man has split the linden-tree in three 
pieces, twisting it round his own fingers, and then untwisting it, 
he utters a response. 

When the king of the Scythians is sick, he sends for three of 
the most famous of the prophets, who prophesy in the manner 
above mentioned. When any of these prophets are proved to 
have sworn falsely, they put them to death in the following 
manner : they fill a wagon with faggots, and yoke oxen to it, then 
tie the feet of the prophets, bind their hands behind them, gag 
them, and enclose them in the midst of the faggots ; then having 
set fire to them, they terrify the oxen, and let them go. Many 



200 HERODOTUS. 

oxen are burnt with the prophets, and many escape very much 
scorched, when the pole has been burnt asunder. Of the children 
of those whom he puts to death, the king- kills all the males, but 
does not hurt the females. 

The sepulchres of the kings are in the country of the Gerrhi. 
There, when their king dies, they dig a large square hole in the 
ground, to receive the corpse. Then, having the body covered 
with wax, the belly opened and cleaned, filled with bruised cypress, 
incense, parsley and anise-seed, and sewn up again, they carry it 
in a chariot to another nation ; those who receive the corpse, 
brought to them, do the same as the Royal Scythians ; they cut 
off part of their ear, shave off their hair, wound themselves on the 
arms, lacerate their forehead and nose, and drive arrows through 
their left hand. Thence they carry the corpse of the king to 
another nation whom they govern ; and those to whom they first 
came accompany 'them. When they have carried the corpse 
round all the provinces, they arrive at the sepulchres among the 
Gerrhi, who are the most remote of the nations they rule over. 
Then, when they have placed the corpse in the grave on a bed of 
leaves, having fixed spears on each side of the dead body, they lay 
pieces of wood over it, and cover it over with mats. In the re- 
maining space of the grave they bury one of the king's wives, 
having strangled her, and his cup-bearer, a cook, a groom, a page, 
a courier, and horses, and firstlings of every thing else, and golden 
goblets ; they make no use of silver or bronze. Then they all 
heap up a large mound, vieing with each other to make it as large 
as possible. At the expiration of a year, they take the most fitting 
of his remaining servants, all native Scythians ; for whomsoever 
the king may order serve him, and they have no servants bought 
with money. Now when they have strangled fifty of these 
servants, and fifty of the finest horses, they take out their bowels, 
cleanse them, fill them with chaff, and sew them up again. Then 
placing the half of a wheel, with its concave side uppermost, 
on two pieces of wood, and the other half on two other pieces 
of wood, and preparing many of these in the same manner, they 



DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA. 20I 

thrust thick pieces of wood through the horses lengthwise, up to 
the neck, mount them on the half-wheels ; the foremost part of 
the half-wheels supporting the shoulders of the horses, and the 
hinder pait the belly near the thighs, while the legs on both sides 
are suspended in the air ; then, having put bridles and bits on the 
horses, they stretch them in front, and fasten them to a stake ; 
they then mount upon each horse one of the fifty young men that 
have been strangled. They drive a straight piece of wood alono- 
the spine as far as the neck, and a part of this wood which pro- 
jects from the bottom they fix into a hole bored in the other piece 
of wood that passes through the horse. The horsemen are then 
placed round the monument, and they depart. 

When the other Scythians die, their nearest relations carry 
them about among their friends, laid in chariots ; each one receives 
and entertains the attendants, and sets the same things before the 
dead body, as before the rest. In this manner private persons are 
carried about for forty days, and then burled. After the burial the 
Scythians purify themselves by wiping and thoroughly washino- 
their heads and bodies. They set up three pieces of wood leaning 
against each other, extend around them woollen cloths ; and hav- 
ing joined them together as closely as possible, they throw red-hot 
stones into a vessel placed in the middle of the pieces of wood and 
the cloths. They have a sort of hemp growing in this country, 
much like flax, except in thickness and height ; in this respect the 
hemp is far superior : it grows both spontaneously and from culti- 
vation ; and from it the Thracians make garments like linen, nor 
would any one who is not well skilled in such matters distinguish 
whether they are made of flax or hemp, but a person who has never 
seen this hemp would think the garment was made of flax. The 
Scythians take seed of this hemp, creep under the cloths, and put 
the seed on the red-hot stones ; this smokes, and produces 
such a steam, as no Grecian vapor-bath could surpass. Trans- 
ported with vapor, they shout aloud ; and this serves them instead 
of washing, for they never bathe the body In water. Their women 
pound on a rough stone pieces of cypress, cedar, and incense-tree, 



202 HERODOTUS. 

pouring on water ; and then this pounded matter, when it is thick, 
they smear over the whole body and face. This at the same time 
gives them an agreeable odor, and when they take off the cata- 
plasm on the following day, they become clean and shining. 

I have never been able to learn with accuracy the amount 
of the population of the Scythians. There is a spot between 
the river Borysthenes and the Hypanis, called Exampseus, contain- 
ino- a fountain of bitter water, which renders the Hypanis unfit to 
be drunk. In this spot lies a bronze cauldron, in size six times as 
laro-e as the bowl at the mouth of the Pontus, which Pausanias,son 
of Cleombrotus, dedicated. For the benefit of any one who has 
never seen this, I will describe it : The cauldron easily contains six 
hundred amphorae; and is six fingers in thickness. The inhabit- 
ants say that it was made from the points of arrows ; for their king, 
Ariantas, wishing to know the population of the Scythians, com- 
manded the Scythians to bring him each one point of an arrow, 
and threatened death on whosoever should fail to bring it. 
Accordino-ly, a vast number of arrow points were brought, and re- 
solvino- to leave a monument made from them, he made this bronze 
bowl, and dedicated it at Exampseus. Their country has nothing 
wonderful, except the rivers, which are very large and very many 
in number, and the extensive plains. They show the print 
of the foot of Hercules upon a rock near the river Tyras ; it 
resembles the footstep of man, and is two cubits in length. 



CHAPTER II. 

INVASION OF SCYTHIA BY DARIUS. 

Whilst Darius was making preparations against the Scythians, 
and sending messages to command some to contribute land forces, 
and others a fleet, and others to bridge over the Thracian Bos- 
phorus, Artabanus, the son of Hystaspes, and brother of Darius, 
entreated him on no account to make an expedition against the 
Scythians, representing the poverty of Scythia ; but he could not 
persuade him. At that time GEobazus, a Persian, who had three 
sons all serving in the army, besought Darius that one might be 
left at home for him. The king answered him, as a friend, and 
one who had made a moderate request, that he would leave him 
all his sons ; he therefore was exceedingly delighted, hoping that 
his sons would be discharged from the army. But at Darius* com- 
mand the proper officers put all the sons of CEobazus to death, and 
left them on the spot. 

When Darius, marching from Susa, reached Chalcedon on the 
Bosphorus, a bridge was already laid across. There, sitting in the 
temple, he took a view of the Euxine Sea, which is worthy of ad- 
miration, for of all seas it is by nature the most wonderful. 

Darius, pleased with the bridge, presented its architect, Man- 
drocles the Samian, with ten of every thing, and he painted a 
picture of the whole junction of the Bosphorus, with King Darius 
seated on a throne, and his army crossing over, and dedicated it 
as first fruits in the temple of Juno. 

When Darius reached the river Teams he was so delipfhted 
with it that he erected a pillar with this inscription : The springs 

OF THE TeARUS YIELD THE BEST AND FINEST WATER OF ALL RIVERS ; 
AND A MAN, THE BEST AND FINEST OF ALL MEN, CAME TO THEM, LEAD- 



204 HERODOTUS. 

ING AN ARMY AGAINST THE SCYTHIANS, DARIUS, SON OF HYSTASPES, 
KING OF THE PERSIANS, AND OF THE WHOLE CONTINENT. 

Before he reached the Ister, he subdued the Getae, who think 
themselves immortal, supposing that they themselves do not die, 
but that the deceased go to the deity Zalmoxis. Every fifth year 
they dispatch one of themselves, taken by lot, to Zalmoxis, with 
orders to let him know on each occasion what they want. Their 
mode of sending him is this. Some who are appointed hold three 
javelins ; whilst others take up the man who is to be sent to Zal- 
moxis by the hands and feet, swing him round, and throw him into 
the air, upon the points. If he is transfixed and dies, they think 
the god is propitious to them ; if he does not die, they blame the 
messenger himself, saying that he is a bad man, and dispatch an- 
other. 

When Darius and his land forces reached the Ister and all had 
crossed. Goes, general of the Mitylenians, advised the king to let 
the bridee remain over it, leavinof the men who constructed it as 
its guard. " Not," said he, "that I am at all afraid that we shall be 
conquered in battle by the Scythians, but rather that, being un- 
able to find them, we may suffer somewhat in our wanderings." 
" Lesbian friend," replied Darius, " when I am safe back in my 
own palace, fail not to present yourself to me, that I may requite 
you for good advice with good deeds." Tying sixty knots in a 
thong, he summoned the Ionian commanders to his presence, and 
said : " Men of Ionia, I have changed my resolution concerning 
the bridge ; so take this thong, and as soon as you see me 
march against the Scythians, untie one of these knots every day ; 
and if I return not until the days numbered by the knots have 
passed, sail away to your own country. Till that time, since I 
have changed my determination, guard the bridge, and apply the 
utmost care to preserve and secure it." 

The Scythians determined to fight no battle in the open field, 
because their allies did not come to their assistance ; but to retreat 
and draw off coverdy, and fill up the wells and the springs as 
they passed by, and destroy the herbage on the ground. They 



INVASION OF SCYTHIA. 2o5 

sent forward the best of their cavalry as an advanced guard ; but 
the wagons, in which all their children and wives lived, they left 
behind. 

Advancing with his army as quick as possible, he fell in 
with the Scythian divisions and pursued them, but they kept a 
day's march before him. The Scythians, for Darius did not relax 
his pursuit, fled, as had been determined, toward those nations 
that had refused to assist them. When this had continued for a 
considerable time, Darius sent a horseman to Indathyrsus, king of 
the Scythians, with the following message : " Most miserable of 
men, why dost thou continually fly, when it is in thy power to do 
one of these two other things .'* For if thou thinkest thou art able 
to resist my power, stand, and having ceased thy wanderings, 
fight ; but if thou art conscious of thy inferiority, in that case also 
cease thy hurried march, and bringing earth and water as presents 
to thy master, come to a conference." To this Indathyrsus, the 
king of the Scythians, answered : "This is the case with me, O 
Persian ; I never yet fled from any man out of fear, nor do I now 
so flee from thee ; nor have I done any thing different now from 
what I am wont to do, even in time of peace ; but why I do not 
forthwith fight thee, I will explain. We have no cities nor culti- 
vated lands, for which we are under any apprehension lest they 
should be taken or ravaged. Yet, if it is by all means necessary 
to come to battle at once, we have the sepulchres of our ancestors, 
come, find these, and attempt to disturb them, then you will know 
whether we will fight for our sepulchres or not ; but before that, 
unless we choose, we will not engage with thee. The only mas- 
ters I acknowledge are Jupiter my progenitor, and Vesta, queen of 
the Scythians ; but to thee, instead of presents of earth and water, 
I will send such presents as are proper to come to thee. And in 
answer to thy boast, that thou art my master, I bid thee weep." 
(This is a Scythian saying.) The herald therefore departed carry- 
ing this answer to Darius. 

When the kings of the Scythians heard the name of servitude, 
they were filled with indignation ; whereupon they sent the divis- 



2C6 HERODOTUS. 

ion united with the Sauromatse, which Scopasis commanded, with 
orders to confer with the lonians, who guarded the bridge over 
the Ister. Those who were left resolved no longer to lead the Per- 
sians about, but to attack them whenever they were taking their 
meals ; accordingly, observing the soldiers of Darius taking their 
meals, they put their design in execution. The Scythian cavalry 
always routed the Persian cavalry, but the Persian horsemen in 
their flight fell back on the infantry, and the infantry supported 
them. The Scythians, having beaten back the cavalry, wheeled 
around through fear of the infantry. A very remarkable circum- 
stance, that was advantageous to the Persians and adverse to the 
Scythians, when they attacked the camp of Darius, was the bray- 
ing of the asses and the appearance of the mules, for Scythia pro- 
duces neither ass nor mule ; there is not in the whole Scythian 
territory a single ass or mule, by reason of cold. The asses, then, 
growing playful, put the Scythian horses into confusion ; and fre- 
quently, as they were advancing upon the Persians, when the 
horses heard, midway, the braying of the asses, they wheeled 
round in confusion, and were greatly amazed, pricking up their 
ears, as having never before heard such a sound, nor seen such a 
shape ; and this circumstance in some slight degree affected the 
fortune of the war. 

When the Scythians saw the Persians in great commotion, 
to detain them longer in Scythia they left some of their own cattle 
in the care of the herdsmen and withdrew to another spot ; and 
the Persians coming up, took the cattle and exulted in what they 
had done. When this had happened several times, Darius at last 
w^as in a great strait, and the kings of the Scythians, having ascer- 
tained this, sent a herald, bearing as gifts to Darius, a bird, a 
mouse, a frog, and five arrows. The Persians asked the bearer 
of the gifts the meaning of this present ; but he answered that he 
had no other orders than to deliver them and return immediately ; 
and he advised the Persians, if they were wise, to discover what 
the gifts meant. Darius' opinixDn was that the Scythians meant 
to give themselves up to him, as well as earth and water ; forming 



INVASION OF SCYTHIA. 207 

his conjecture thus : since a mouse is bred in the earth, and sub- 
sists on the same food as a man ; a frog Hves in the water ; a bird 
is very hke a horse ; and the arrows they deHver up as their whole 
strength. But Gobryas, one of the seven who had deposed the 
magus, did not coincide with this ; he conjectured that the presents 
intimated : *' Unless, O Persians, ye become birds and fly into the 
air, or become mice and hide yourselves beneath the earth, or 
become frogs and leap into the lakes, ye shall never return home 
again, but be stricken by these arrows." And thus the other 
Persians interpreted the gifts. 

The rest of the Scythians, after they had sent the presents to 
Darius, drew themselves up opposite the Persians with their foot 
and horse, as if they intended to come to an engagement ; and as 
the Scythians were standing in their ranks, a hare started in the 
midst of them ; and each went in pursuit of it. The Scythians being 
in great confusion, and shouting loudly, Darius asked the meaning 
of the uproar in the enemy's ranks ; but when he heard that they 
were pursuing a hare, he said to those he was accustomed to ad- 
dress on such occasions : " These men treat us with great con- 
tempt ; and I am convinced that Gobryas spoke rightly concerning 
the Scythian presents. I feel that we have need of the best ad- 
vice, how our return home may be effected in safety." To this 
Gobryas answered : " O king, I was in some measure acquainted 
by report with these men ; but I have learned much more since I 
came hither, and seen how they make sport of us. My opinion 
is, that as soon as night draws on we should light fires, as we are 
accustomed to do, and having deceived and left behind those 
soldiers who are least able to bear hardships, and having tethered 
all the asses, should depart before the Scythians direct their march 
to the Ister, for the purpose of destroying the bridge, or the 
lonians take any resolution which may occasion our ruin." 
Darius acted on this opinion : the infirm amongst the soldiers, and 
those whose loss would be of the least consequence, he left on the 
spot in the camp. And he left the asses, that they might make a 
noise ; and the men were left on this pretext, that he with the 



2o8 HERODOTUS. 

strength of his army was about to attack the Scythians, and they, 
during that time, would defend the camp. So Darius laid these 
injunctions on those he was preparing to abandon, caused the fires 
to be lighted, and marched away with all speed toward the Ister. 
The asses, deserted by the multitude, began to bray much louder 
than usual ; so that the Scythians, hearing them, supposed of 
course that the Persians were still at their station. When day 
appeared, the men that were abandoned, discovering that they had 
been betrayed by Darius, extended their hands to the Scythians, 
and told them what had occurred ; when they heard this the divis- 
ions of the Scythians joined forces as quickly as possible and pur- 
sued the Persians straight toward the Ister. But as a great part 
of the Persian army consisted of infantry, and they did not know 
the way, there being no roads cut, and as the Scythian army con- 
sisted of cavalry, and knew the shortest route, they missed each 
other, and the Scythians arrived at the bridge much before the 
Persians. Finding that the Persians were not yet arrived, they 
spoke to the lonians who were on board the ships in these terms: 
" Men of Ionia, the number of days appointed for your stay is 
already passed, and you do not as you ought in continuing here ; 
but if you remained before through fear, now break up the passage 
and depart as quickly as possible, rejoicing that you are free, and 
give thanks to the gods and the Scythians. As for the man who 
before was your master, we will so deal with him that he shall 
never hereafter make war on any people." 

Upon this the lonians held a consultation. The opinion of 
Miltiades the Athenian, who commanded and reigned over the 
Chersonesites on the Hellespont, was, that they should comply with 
the request of the Scythians, and restore liberty to Ionia. But 
Histiseus the Milesian was of a contrary opinion, and said, " that 
every one reigned over his own city through Darius ; and if 
Darius' power should be destroyed, neither would he himself con- 
tinue master of Miletus, nor any of the rest of other places ; because 
every one of the cities would choose to be governed rather by 
a democracy than a tyranny. Histiseus had no sooner delivered this 



INVASION OF SCYTIIIA. 209 

opinion, than all went over to his side, who had before assented to 
that of Miltiades. Approving of the opinion of Histiseus, they deter- 
mined to add to it the following acts and words. To break up the 
bridge on the Scythian side, as far as a bow-shot might reach, that 
they might seem to do something, when in effect they did nothing ; 
and that the Scythians might not attempt to use violence and pur- 
pose to cross the Ister by the bridge ; and to say, while they were 
breaking up the bridge on the Scythian side, they would do 
every thing that might be agreeable to the Scythians. And, 
Histiseus delivered the answer in the name of all, saying as follows : 
" Men of Scythia, you have brought us good advice, and urge it 
seasonably ; you, on your part, have pointed out the right w^ay to 
us, and we on ours readily submit to you ; for, as you see, we are 
breaking up the passage, and will use all diligence, desiring to be 
free. But while we are breaking it up, it is fitting you should seek 
for them, and having found them, avenge us and yourselves on them, 
as they deserve." The Scythians, believing a second time that the 
lonians were sincere, turned back to seek the Persians ; but en- 
tirely missed the way they had taken. The Scythians themselves 
were the cause of this, as they had destroyed the pastures for the 
horses in this direction, and filled in the wells ; for if they had not 
done this, they might easily have found the Persians ; but now they 
erred in the very thing which they thought they had contrived for 
the best. For the Scythians sought the enemy by traversing those 
parts of the country where there was forage and water for the 
horses, thinking that they too would make their retreat by that 
way. But the Persians carefully observing their former track, re- 
turned by it, and thus with difficulty found the passage. As they 
arrived in the night, and perceived the bridge broken off, they fell 
into the utmost consternation, lest the lonians had abandoned 
them. There was with Darius an Egytian, who had an exceedingly 
loud voice. This man Darius commanded to stand on the bank 
of the Ister, and called Histiaeus the Milesian. He did so, and 
Histiseus, having heard the first shout, brought up all the ships to 
carry the army across, and joined the bridge. Thus the Persians 
escaped. 



CHAPTER III. 

DESCRIPTION OF LIBYA. 

Beginning from Egypt the Adrymachidae are the first of the 
Libyans we meet with : they for the most part observe the usages 
of Egypt, but they wear the same dress as the other Libyans. 
The women wear a chain of bronze on each leg, and allow their 
hair to grow long. Next to these are the Giligammae, who occupy 
the country westward, as far as the island Aphrodisias. Midway 
on this coast the island of Platea is situated, which the Cyrenaeans 
colonized. The Asbystse adjoin the Giligammae westward; they 
inhabit the country above Cyrene, but do not reach to the sea ; 
for the Cyrenaeans occupy the sea-coast. They drive four-horsed 
chariots, more than any of the Libyans, and endeavor to imitate 
most of the customs of the Cyrenaeans. The Nasamones, a very 
numerous people, live to the westward. In summer they leave 
their cattle on the coast, and go up to the region of Augila, in 
order to gather the fruit of the palm-trees, which grow in great 
numbers to a large size, and are all productive. They catch 
locusts, dry them in the sun, reduce them to powder, and sprink- 
ling them in milk, drink them. In their oaths and divinations they 
swear, laying their hands on the sepulchres of those who are 
generally esteemed to have been the most just and excellent 
persons among them ; and they divine, going to the tombs of 
their ancestors, and after having prayed, they lie down to sleep, 
and whatever dream they have, they avail themselves of. In 
pledging their faith, each party gives the other to drink out of his 
hand, and drinks in turn from the other's hand ; and if they .have 
no liquid, they take up some dust from the ground and lick it. 

Above these to the north, in a country abounding with wild 



DE SCRIP TION OF LIB YA. 211 

beasts, live the Garamantes, who avoid all men and the society of 
any others ; they do not possess any warlike weapon, nor do they 
know how to defend themselves. The Macae adjoin them on the 
sea-coast, westward ; these shave their heads so as to leave a tuft, 
and allowing the middle hair to grow, keep both sides shaved close 
to the skin ; in war they wear the skins of ostriches for defensive 
armor. The river Cinyps, flowing through their country from a 
hill called the Graces, discharges itself into the sea. This hill of 
the Graces is thickly covered with trees, though all the rest of 
Libya is bare. From the sea to this hill is a distance of two hun- 
dred stades. The Lotophagi occupy the coast that projects to the 
sea in front ; they subsist only on the fruit of the lotus, which is 
equal in size to the mastic berry, and in sweetness resembles the 
fruit of the palm-tree. The Lotophagi make wine also from this 
fruit. 

The Machlyes, who also use the lotus, but in a less degree than 
those before mentioned, adjoin the Lotophagi on the sea-coast. 
They extend as far as a large river called Triton, which discharges 
itself into the great lake Tritonis ; and in it is an island named 
Phla. They say that the Lacedaemonians were commanded by an 
oracle to colonize this island. The following story is also told : 
that Jason, when the building of the Argo was finished at the foot 
of Mount Pelion, having put a hecatomb on board, and a bronze 
tripod, sailed round the Peloponnesus, purposing to go to Delphi ; 
and as he was sailing off Malea, a north wind caught him and drove 
him to Libya ; and before he could descern the land, he found 
himself in the shallows of the lake Tritonis ; and as he was in 
doubt how to extricate his ship, the story goes that a Triton ap- 
peared to him, and bade Jason give him the tripod, promising that 
he would show them the passage, and conduct them away in safety. 
Jason consented, and the Triton showed them the passage out of 
the shallows, and placed the tripod in his own temple ; then pro- 
nouncing an oracle from the tripod, he declared to Jason and his 
companions all that should happen, — that " when one of the descend- 
ants of those who sailed with him in the Argo should carry away 



212 HERODOTUS, 

the tripod, then it was fated that a hundred Grecian cities should 
be built about the lake Tritonis." The neiofhborin'of nations of the 
Libyans, when they heard this, concealed the tripods. The Auses 
adjoin these Machlyes ; they, as well as the Machlyes, dwell round 
the lake Tritonis, and the Triton forms the boundary between 
them. The Machlyes let the hair grow on the back of the head, 
and the Auses on the front. At the annual festival of Minerva, 
their virgins, dividing themselves into two companies, fight to- 
gether with stones and staves, affirming that they perform the 
ancient rites to their native goddess, whom we call Minerva ; and 
those of the virgins who die from their wounds they call false 
virgins. But before they leave off fighting, they, with one consent, 
deck the maiden that excels in beauty, with a Corinthian helmet, 
and a suit of Grecian armor, and placing her in a chariot conduct 
her round the lake. In what way they formerly decorated the 
maidens before the Greeks settled in their neighborhood, I am un- 
able to say ; but I conjecture that they were decked in Egyptian 
armor, for I am of opinion that the shield and helmet were 
brought from Egypt into Greece. 

Above these nomadic tribes, inland, Libya abounds in wild 
beasts ; beyond the wild-beast tract is a ridge of sand, stretching 
from the Egyptian Thebes to the columns of Hercules. At inter- 
vals of a ten days' journey in this ridge, there are pieces of salt in 
large lumps on hills ; and at the top of each hill, from the midst 
of the salt, cool, sweet water gushes up. The first people you 
come to after a ten days' journey from Thebes, are the Ammoni- 
ans, who have a temple resembling that of Theban Jupiter. For 
the image of Jupiter at Thebes has the head of a ram. They have 
also another kind of spring water which in the morning is tepid, 
becomes colder about the time of full forum, and at midday is 
very cold ; at that time they water their gardens. As the day de- 
clines it generally loses its coldness, till the sun sets, then the 
water becomes tepid again, and continuing to increase in heat till 
midnight, it then boils and bubbles up ; when midnight is passed, 
it gets cooler until morning. This fountain is called after the sun. 



DESCRIP TION OF LIB YA. 2 1 3 

Next to the Ammonians, along the ridge of sand, at the end of 
another ten days' journey, there is a hill of salt, like that of the 
Ammonians, and water, and men live round it ; the name of this 
region is Augila ; and thither the Nasamonians go to gather dates. 
From the Augilse, at the end of another ten days' journey, is an- 
other hill of salt and water, and many fruit-bearing palm-trees, as 
also in other places ; and men inhabit it who are called Garaman- 
tes, a very powerful nation ; they lay earth upon the salt, and then 
sow their ground. From these to the Lotophagi the shortest 
route is a journey of thirty days ; amongst them cattle that feed 
backwards are met with, having horns that are so bent forward, 
that they are unable to feed forwards, because their horns would 
stick in the ground. They differ from other kine in no other 
respect, except that their hide is thicker and harder. These Gara- 
mantes hunt the Ethiopian Troglodytes in four-horse chariots ; 
these Ethiopian Troglodytes are the swiftest of foot of all men of 
whom we have heard any account given. The Troglodytes feed 
upon serpents and lizards, and such kinds of reptiles ; they speak a 
language like no other, but screech like bats. 

At the distance of another ten days' journey from the Gara- 
mantes is another hill of salt and water, around which a people live 
who are called Atarantes ; they are the only race we know of who 
have not personal 1 names. For the name Atarantes be- 
longs to them collectively, and to each one of them no name is 
given. They curse the sun as he passes over their heads, and 
moreover utter ag^ainst him the foulest invectives, because he con- 
sumes by his scorching heat, the men themselves and their country. 
Afterward, at the end of still another ten days' journey, there is 
one more hill of salt and water, and men live round it, near a 
mountain called Atlas ; it is narrow and circular on all sides, and 
is said to be so lofty that its top can never be seen ; it is never 
free from clouds, either in summer or winter. The inhabitants say 
that it is the Pillar of Heaven. From this mountain the men de- 
rive their appellation, for they are called Atlantes. They are said 
neither to eat the flesh of any animal, nor to see visions. As far, 



214 HERODOTUS. 

then, as these Atlantes, I am able to mention the names of the 
nations that inhabit this ridge, but not beyond them. This ridge, 
however, extends as far as the pillars of Hercules, and even be- 
yond ; and there is a mine of salt in it at intervals of ten days' 
journey, and men dwelling there. The houses of them all are built 
of blocks of salt, for in these parts of Libya no rain falls; walls 
being of salt could not of course stand long if rain did fall. The 
salt dug out there is white and purple in appearance. Above this 
ridge, to the south and interior of Libya, the country is a desert, 
without water, without animals, without rain, and without wood ; 
and there is no kind of moisture in it. 

Westward of lake Tritonis, the Libyans are no longer nomads, 
nor do they follow the same customs, with respect to their children, 
as the nomads are accustomed to do ; for the nomadic Libyans, 
whether all I am unable to say with certainty, but many of them, 
when their children are four years old, burn the veins on the 
crown of their heads, with uncleaned sheep's wool ; and some of 
them do so on the veins in the temples ; to the end that humors 
flowing down from the head may not injure them as long as they 
live : and, for this reason, they say they are so very healthy, for 
the Libyans are in truth the most healthy of all men with whom 
we are acquainted. But I simply repeat what the Libyans them- 
selves say. From the Libyan women the Greeks derived the at- 
tire and aegis of Minerva's statues ; for, except that the dress of 
the Libyan women is leather, and the fringes that hang from the 
aegis are not serpents, but made of thongs, they are otherwise 
equipped in the same way ; and, moreover, the very name proves 
that the garb of the Palladia comes from Libya ; for the Libyan 
women throw over their dress, goats' skins without the hair, 
fringed and dyed with red. From these goats' skins the Greeks 
have borrowed the name of ^gis. And the bowlings in the 
temples were, I think, first derived from there ; for the Libyan 
women practise the same custom, and do it well. The Greeks 
also learnt from the Libyans to yoke four horses abreast. All the 
nomads, except the Nasamonians, inter their dead in the same 



DESCRIP TION OF LIB VA, 2 1 5 

manner as the Greeks ; these bury them in a sitting posture, 
watching when one is about to expire, that they may set him up, 
and he may not die supine. Their dwellings are compacted of the 
asphodel shrub, interwoven with rushes, and are portable. 

To the west of the river Triton, Libyans who are husbandmen 
next adjoin the Auses ; they are accustomed to live in houses, and 
are called Maxyes. They let the hair grow on the right side of 
the head, and shave the left ; and bedaub the body with ver- 
milion : they say that they are descended from men who came 
from Troy. This region, and all the rest of Libya westward, is 
much more infested by wild beasts and more thickly wooded than 
the country of the nomads ; for the eastern country of Libya, 
which the nomads inhabit, is low and sandy, as far as the river 
Triton ; but the country westward of this, which is occupied by 
agriculturists, is very mountainous, woody, and abounds with wild 
beasts. For amongst them there are enormous serpents, and lions, 
elephants, bears, asps, asses with horns, and monsters with dogs' 
heads and without heads, who have eyes in their breasts, at least 
as the Libyans say, together with wild men and wild women. 
None of these things are found among the nomads, but others of 
the following kind : pygargi, antelopes, buffaloes, and asses, not 
such as have horns, but others that never drink ; and oryes, from 
the horns of which are made the elbows of the Phoenician citherns ; 
in size this beast is equal to an ox ; and foxes, hyaenas, porcupines, 
wild rams, dictyes, thoes, panthers, boryes, and land crocodiles 
about three cubits long, very much like lizards ; ostriches, and 
small serpents, each with one horn. These, then, are the wild 
animals in that country, besides such as are met with elsewhere, 
except the stag and the wild boar ; but the stag and the wild boar 
are never seen in Libya. They have three sorts of mice there ; 
some called dipodes, or two-footed ; others, zegeries, this name is 
Libyan, and means the same as the word signifying hillocks in 
Greek ; and hedgehogs. There are also weasels produced in the 
silphium, like those at Tartessus. 

The Zaveces adjoin the Maxyan Libyans ; their women drive 



2l6 HERODOTUS. 

their chariots in war. The Gyzantes adjoin them ; amongst them 
bees make a great quantity of honey, and it is said that confection- 
ers make much more. All these paint themselves with vermilion, 
and eat monkeys, which abound in their mountains. Near them, 
the Carthaginians say, lies an island called Cyraunis, two hundred 
stades in length, inconsiderable in breadth, easy of access from the 
continent, and abounding in olive trees and vines. In it is a lake, 
from the mud of which the girls of the country draw up gold dust 
by means of feathers daubed with pitch. Whether this is true I 
know not, but I write what is related ; it may be so, however, for 
I have myself seen pitch drawn up out of a lake and from water in 
Zacynthus ; and there are several lakes there, the largest of them 
is seventy feet every way, and two orgyae in depth ; into this they 
let down a pole with a myrtle branch fastened to the end, and then 
draw up pitch adhering to the myrtle ; it has the smell of asphalt, 
but is in other respects better than the pitch of Pieria. They pour 
it into a cistern dug near the lake, and when they have collected a 
sufficient quantity, draw it off from the cistern into jars. All that 
falls into the lake passes under ground, and appears again upon the 
surface of the sea, which is about four stades distant from the lake. 
This account given of the island may probably be true. The 
Carthaginians further say, that beyond the pillars of Hercules 
there is an inhabited region of Libya ; when they arrive among 
these people and have unloaded their merchandise, they set it in 
order on the shore, go on board their ships, and make a great 
smoke ; the inhabitants, seeing the smoke, come down to the sea, 
deposit gold in exchange for the merchandise, and withdraw to 
some distance from the merchandise ; the Carthaginians then, 
going ashore, examine the gold, and if the quantity seems suf- 
ficient for the merchandise they take it up and sail away ; but if it 
is not sufficient, they go on board their ships again and wait ; the 
natives then approach and deposit more gold, until they have sat- 
isfied them ; neither party ever wrongs the other ; for they do not 
touch the gold before it is made adequate to the value of the mer- 
chandise, nor do the natives touch the merchandise before the 
other party has taken the gold. 



DESCRIPTION OF LIBYA. 



217 



No part of Libya appears to me so good in fertility as to be 
compared with Asia or Europe, except only the district of Cinyps ; 
for the land bears the same name as the river, and is equal to the 
best land for the production of corn ; nor is it at all like the rest 
of Libya ; for the soil is black, and well watered with springs, and 
•it is neither affected at all by drought, nor is it injured by imbibing 
too much rain, which falls in this part of 
Libya. The proportion of the produce 
of this land equals that of Babylon. The 
land also which the Euesperides occupy 
is good ; for when it yields its best, it 
produces a hundred-fold ; but that in 
Cinyps three hundred -fold. The district 
of Cyrene, which is the highest of that 
part of Libya which the nomads occupy, 
has three seasons, a circumstance worthy 
of admiration ; for the first fruits near 
the sea swell so as to be ready for the 
harvest and vintage ; when these are 
gathered in, the fruits of the middle re- 
gion, away from the sea, swell so as to 
be gathered in, these they call uplands ; 
and just as this middle harvest has been 
gathered in, that in the highest part 
becomes ripe and swells. So that Avhen 
the first crop has been drunk and eaten, 
the last comes in. Thus harvest occu- 
pies the Cyrenaeans during eight months. 
This maybe sufficient to say concerning 
these things. 

The Persians once upon a time, sent against the city of Barce, 
laid siege to it for nine months, digging passages under ground 
that reached to the walls, and making vigorous assaults. Now 
these excavations were discovered by a worker of bronze, carrying 
a bronze shield round within the wall, and applying it to the 




OLIVE TREES. 



2l8 HERODOTUS. 

ground within the city : in other places to which he applied it, it 
made no noise, but at the parts that were excavated, the metal of 
the shield sounded. The Barcseans, therefore, countermining them 
in that part, slew the Persians who were employed in the excava- 
tion. When much time had been spent, and many had fallen on 
both sides, and not the fewest on the side of the Persians, Amasis, 
general of the land forces, had recourse to the following stratagem : 
Finding that the Barcseans could not be taken by force, but might 
be by artifice, he dug a wide pit by night, laid weak planks of 
wood over it, and on the surface over the planks he spread a heap 
of earth, making it level with the rest of the ground. At day- 
break he invited theBarcaeansto a conference ; they gladly assented, 
thinking that at last they were pleased to come to terms : and they 
made an agreement of the following nature, concluding the treaty 
over the concealed pit : " That as long as this earth shall remain 
as it is, the treaty should continue in force ; and that the Barcaeans 
should pay a reasonable tribute to the king, and that the Persians 
should form no new desio-ns acjainst the Barcseans." After the 
treaty the Barcaeans, confiding in the Persians, went freely out of 
the city, and allowed any one of the Persians who chose to pass 
within the wall, throwing open all the gates. But the Persians, 
having broken down the concealed bridge, rushed within the wall : 
having not fully kept their oath. The Persians reduced the Bar- 
caeans to slavery and took their departure. But king Darius gave 
them a village in the district of Bactria, to dwell in, and the name 
of Barce was given to this village, which was still inhabited in my 
time, in the Bactrian territory. 



BOOK V. TERPSICHORE. 



CHAPTER I. 

CONQUESTS OF THE GENERALS OF DARIUS. 

The Persians, left in Europe by Darius under the command of 
Megabazus, subdued the Perinthians first of the Hellespontines, 
who were unwilHng to submit to Darius, and had been before 
roughly handled by the Pceonians. For an oracle had admon- 
ished the Paionians to invade the Perinthians, and if the Perinthi- 
ans, when encamped against them, should challenge them, shouting 
to them by name, then to attack, but if they should not shout out 
to them, not to attack. A threefold single combat took place be- 
tween them according to a challenge ; for they matched a man with 
a man, a horse with a horse, and a dog with a dog. The Perinthi- 
ans, victorious in two of these combats, through excess of joy sang 
the Paeon, whereupon the Pseonians conjectured that this was the 
meaning of the oracle, and said among themselves : " Now surely 
the oracle must be accomplished ; now it is our part to act." 
The Pseonians attacked the Perinthians as they were sineine the 
Pseon, gained a complete victory, and left but few of them alive. 

The nation of the Thraclans is the greatest of all among men, 
except the Indians ; and if they were governed by one man, or 
acted in concert, they would, in my opinion, be invincible, and by 
far the most powerful of all nations. But as this is impracticable, 
and it is impossible that they should ever be united, they are 
weak. 

Beyond the Ister appears to be an interminable desert, and the 
only men that I am able to hear of as dwelling there are those called 



2 20 HERODOTUS. 

Sio-ynnse, who wear the Medic dress ; their horses are shaggy all 
over the body, to five fingers in depth of hair ; they are small, 
flat-nosed, and unable to carry men ; but when yoked to chariots 
are very fleet. They say that these people are a colony of Medes. 
How they can have been a colony of Medes I cannot comprehend ; 
but any thing may happen in the course of time. 

There is a curious people who inhabit Lake Prasias itself, who 
were not at all subdued by Megabazus ; — they live upon the lake 
in dwellings erected upon planks fitted on lofty piles, which are 
driven in the middle of the lake, with a narrow entrance from the 
main land by a single bridge. These piles that support the planks 
all the citizens anciently placed there at the common charge ; but 
afterward they established a law to the following effect : Whenever 
a man marries, for each wife he sinks three piles, bringing wood 
from a mountain called Orbelus : but every man has several wives. 
Each one has a hut on the planks, in which he dwells, with a trap- 
door closely fitted in the planks, and leading down to the lake. 
They tie the young children with a cord around the foot, for fear 
they should fall into the lake beneath. To their horses and beasts 
of burden they give fish for fodder; of which there is such an 
abundance, that you have simply to open your trap-door, let down 
an empty basket by a cord into the lake, when, after waiting a 
short time, you draw it up full offish. 

Megabazus, after conquering the Paeonians, arrived at the 
Hellespont, crossed over, and came to Sardis. In the meantime, 
Histiseus the Milesian was building a wall around the place, which, 
at his own request, he had received from Darius as a reward for 
his services in preserving the bridge : this place was near the river 
Strymon, and its name Myrcinus. Megabazus, upon learning 
what was being done by Histiseus, as soon as he reached Sardis 
said to Darius : " O king, what have you done, in allowing a 
crafty and subtle Greek to possess a city in Thrace, Avhere there is 
an abundance of timber fit for building ships and plenty of wood 
for oars, and silver mines ? A great multitude of Greeks and bar- 
barians dwell around, who, when they have obtained him as a 



CONQUESTS OF THE GENERALS OF DARIUS. 22 1 

leader, will do whatever he may command, both by day and by 
night. Put a stop therefore to the proceedings of this man, that 
you may not be harassed by a domestic war ; send for him in a 
gentle manner, and stop him : and when you have him in your 
power, take care that he never returns to the Greeks." Magabazus 
easily persuaded Darius, since he wisely foresaw what was to hap- 
pen. So Darius sent a messenger to Myrcinus, who spoke as 
follows : " Histiseus, King Darius says thus : I find on considera- 
tion that there is no man better affected to me and my affairs than 
thyself ; and this I have learnt, not by words, but actions ; now, 
since I have great designs to put in execution, come to me by all 
means, that I may communicate them to thee." Histiseus, giving 
credit to these words, and at the time con- 
sidering it a great honor to become a 
counsellor of the king, went to Sardis : 
when he arrived, Darius said, " Histiseus, 
I have sent for you on this occasion. As 
soon as I returned from Scythia, and you 
were out of my sight, I have wished for 
nothing so much as to see you and con- 
verse with you again ; being persuaded 
that a friend who is both intelligent and well 
affected, is the most valuable of all posses- 
sions ; both of which I am able to testify from my own knowledge 
concur in you, as regards my affairs. You have done well in 
coming, and I make you this offer : Think no more of Miletus, 
nor of the new-founded city in Thrace; but follow me to Susa, 
have the same that I have, and be the partner of my table and 
counsels." And Darius appointed Artaphernes, his brother by the 
same father, to be governor of Sardis, and departed for Susa, 
taking Histiaeus with him. He first nominated Otanes to be gen- 
eral of the forces on the coast, whose father, Sisamnes, one of the 
roya' judges. King Cambyses had put to death and flayed, because 
he had given an unjust judgment for a sum of money. He had 
his skin torn off, and cut into thongs, and extended it on the 




HEAD-DRESS OK A lUDING UORSE. 



222 . HERODOTUS. 

bench on which he used to sit, when he pronounced judo-ment ; 
then Cambyses appointed as judge in the room of Sisamnes, whom 
he had slain and flayed, the son of Sisamnes, admonishing him to 
remember on what seat he sat to administer justice. This very 
Otanes, then, being now appointed successor to Megabazus in the 
command of the army, subdued the Byzantians and Chalcedonians, 
and took Antandros, which belongs to the territory of Troas, and 
Lamponium ; and obtaining ships from the Lesbians, he took 
Lemnos and Imbrus, both of which were then Inhabited by Pelas- 
gians. The Lemnians fought valiantly, and defended themselves 
for some time, but were at length overcome ; and over those who 
survived, the Persians set up Lycaretus as governor, the brother 
of Mseandrlus, who had reigned In Samos. Otanes enslaved and 
subdued them all for various alleo^ed reasons : some he charged 
with desertion to the Scythians ; others he accused of having 
harassed Darius' army in their return home from the Scythians. 

Afterward, for the intermission from misfortune was not of 
long duration, evils arose a second time to the lonlans from Naxos 
and Miletus. For, on the one hand, Naxos surpassed all the 
islands In opulence ; and on the other, Miletus, at the same time, 
had attained the summit of Its prosperity, and was accounted the 
ornament of Ionia. Some of the opulent men, exiled from Naxos 
by the people, went to Miletus : the governor of Miletus happened 
to be Arlstagoras, son of Molpagoras, son-in-law and cousin of 
HIstiaeus, whom Darius detained at Susa. These Naxlans arrived 
at Miletus, entreated Arlstagoras, If he could, by any means, to 
give them some assistance so that that they might return to their 
own country. He, perceiving that if by his means they should 
return to their city, he might get the dominion of Naxos, used the 
friendship of HIstiaeus as a pretence, and addressed the following 
discourse to them : " I am not able of myself to furnish you with 
a force sufficient to reinstate you against the wishes of the Naxlans, 
who are in possession of the city, for I hear that the Naxlans have 
eight thousand heavy-armed men, and a considerable number of 
ships of war. Yet I will contrive some way, and use my best en- 



cox QUESTS OF THE GENERALS OF DARIUS. 223 

deavors ; my scheme is this : Artaphernes happens to be my 
friend ; he is son of Hystaspes and brother of king Darius, and 
commands all the maritime parts of Asia, and has a large army 
and navy. This man, I am persuaded, will do whatever we desire." 
The Naxians urged Aristagoras to go about it in the best way he 
could, and bade him promise presents, and their expenses to the 
army, for they would repay it ; having great expectation that 
when they should appear at Naxos the Naxians would do what- 
ever they should order, as also would the other islanders ; for of 
these Cyclades islands not one was as yet subject to Darius. 

Accordingly Aristagoras journeyed to Sardis, and told Arta- 
phernes, that Naxos was an island of no great extent, to be sure, 
but beautiful and fertile, and near Ionia, and in it was much wealth 
and many slaves. " Do send an army against this country, to re- 
instate those who have been banished ; and if you do this, I have, 
in the first place, a large sum of money ready, in addition to the 
expenses of the expedition, for it is just that we who lead you on 
should supply that ; and in the next, you will acquire for the king 
Naxos itself, and the islands dependent upon it, Paros, Andros, 
and the rest that are called Cyclades. Setting out from there you 
will easily attack Eubcea, a large and wealthy island, not less than 
Cyprus, and very easy to be taken. A hundred ships are suffi- 
cient to subdue them all." The reply was quickly given: "You 
propose things advantageous to the king's house, and advise every 
thing well, except the number of ships ; instead of one hundred, 
two hundred shall be ready at the commencement of the spring. 
But it is necessary that the king himself should approve of the 
design." Aristagoras, wild with delight, went back to Miletus. 
And Artaphernes, finding that Darius himself approved of the plan, 
made ready two hundred triremes, and a very numerous body of 
Persians and other allies : and he appointed Megabates general, 
a Persian of the family of the Archimenidae, his own and Darius' 
nephew, whose daughter, if the report be true, was afterward be- 
trothed to Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus the Lacedaemonian, who 
aspired to become tyrant of Greece. Artaphernes, having ap- 



2 24 HERODOTUS. 

pointed Megabates general, sent forward the army to Aristagoras. 

Megabates, with Aristagoras, the Ionian forces, and the Nax- 
ians, sailed professedly for the Hellespont ; but when he arrived 
at Chios, anchored at Caucasa, that he might cross over from there 
to Naxos by a north wind. However, it was fated that the Nax- 
ians were not to perish by this armament, as the following event 
occurred : As Megabates was going round the watches on board 
the ships, he found no one on guard on board a Myndian ship ; 
indignant at this, he ordered his body-guards to find the captain of 
this ship, whose name was Scylax, and to bind him with his body 
half-way through the lower row-lock of the vessel, so that his head 
should be on the outside of the vessel, and his legs within. Some 
one told Aristagoras that Megabates had bound and disgraced his 
Myndian friend. He went therefore and interceded for him with 
the Persian, but, when he found he could obtain nothing, went 
himself and released him. Megabates, hearing of this, was very 
indignant, and enraofed at Aristacroras, and told him so ; " but," 
said Aristagoras, " what have you to do with these matters ? Did 
not Artaphernes send you to obey me, and to sail wheresoever I 
should command ? " Megabates, still more exasperated at this, as 
soon as night arrived, dispatched men in a ship to Naxos, to in- 
form the Naxians of the impending danger. The Naxians, who 
had not a suspicion that this armament w-as coming against them, 
immediately carried every thing from the fields into the town, and, 
with plenty of food and drink, prepared to undergo a siege, so the 
Persians had to attack men well fortified, and after besieging them 
four months, consumed all the supplies they had brought with 
them, together with large sums furnished by Aristagoras, and 
wanting still more to carry on the siege, they were forced to build 
a fortress for the Naxian exiles, and retire to the continent unsuc- 
cessful. 

Aristagoras was thus unable to fulfil his promise to Artaphernes ; 
while at the same time the expenses of the expedition pressed 
heavily on him on account of the ill success of the army ; and hav- 
inof incurred the ill will of Megabates to such an extent that 



CONQUESTS OF THE GENERALS OF DARIUS. 225 

he feared that he should be deprived of the government of Miletus, 
he meditated a revolt. It happened at the same time that a 
messenger with his head tattooed came from Susa from Histiseus, 
urging Aristagoras to revolt from the king. For Histiseus, being 
desirous to communicate to Aristagoras his wish for him to revolt, 
.had no other means of signifying it with safety, because the roads 
were guarded ; therefore, having shaved the head of the most 
trustworthy of his slaves, he marked it with a sharp iron, and 
waited till the hair had grown again, then sent him to Miletus 
without other instructions except that when he arrived at Miletus 
he should desire Aristagoras to shave off his hair and look upon 
his head : the punctures, as I have said before, signified a wish for 
him to revolt. Histiaeus did this because he looked upon his 
detention at Susa as a great misfortune ; while if a revolt should 
take place he had great hopes that he should be sent down to the 
coast ; but if Miletus made no new attempt, he thought that 
he should never go there again. It was resolved to revolt, 
and messengers were sent to the force that had returned from 
Naxos, and which was at Myus, to seize the captains on board the 
ships. Aristagoras thus openly revolted, devising every thing he 
could against Darius. And first, in pretence, having laid aside 
the sovereignty, he established an equality in Miletus, in order 
that the Milesians might more readily join with him in the revolt. 
Afterward he effected the same throuehout the rest of Ionia, 
expelling some of the tyrants ; and he delivered up those whom 
he had taken from on board the ships that had sailed with him 
against Naxos, to the cities, in order to gratify the people, giving 
them up to the respective cities, from whence each came. The 
Mityleneans, as soon as they received Coes, led him out, and 
stoned him to death ; but the Cymeans let their tyrant go ; 
and in like manner most of the others let theirs go. Accordingly 
there was a suppression of tyrants throughout the cities. But 
Aristagoras enjoined them all to appoint magistrates in each 
of the cities, and went himself in a trireme as ambassador to 
Sparta, for it was necessary for him to procure some powerful 
alliance. 



22 6 HERODOTUS. 

Aristagoras arrived at Sparta, when Cleomenes held the 
government ; and he went to confer with him, as the Lacedaemo- 
nians say, carrying a bronze tablet, on which was engraved the 
circumference of the whole earth, the whole sea, and all rivers. 
" Wonder not, Cleomenes," said Aristagoras, " at my eagerness in 
coming here, for it is a great sorrow to us that the children of 
lonians should be slaves instead of free, and above all others it is 
a disgrace to you, inasmuch as you are at the head of Greece. I 
adjure you by the Grecian gods, rescue the lonians, who are of 
your own blood, from servitude. It is easy for you to effect this, 
for the barbarians are not valiant ; whereas you, in matters relating 
to war, have attained to the utmost height of glory ; their mode 
of fighting is, with bows and short spears, and they engage in 
battle wearing loose trousers, and turbans on their heads, so that 
they are easy to be overcome. Besides, there are treasures be- 
longing to those who inhabit that continent, such as are not pos- 
sessed by all other nations together ; gold, silver, bronze, varie- 
gated garments, beasts of burden, and slaves ; all these you may 
have if you will. They live adjoining one another as I will show 
you. Next to these lonians are the Lydians, who inhabit a fertile 
country, and abound in silver." As he said this he showed the map 
of the earth, which he had brought with him, engraved on a tablet. 
" Next to the Lydians," proceeded Aristagoras, " are these Phry- 
gians to the eastward, who are the richest in cattle and in corn of 
all with whom I am acquainted. Next to the Phrygians are the 
Cappadocians, whom we call Syrians ; and bordering on them, 
the Cilicians, extending to this sea in which the island of Cyprus 
is situated ; they pay an annual tribute of five hundred talents to 
the king. Next to the Cilicians are these Armenians, who also 
abound in cattle ; and next to the Armenians are the IMetienians, 
who occupy this country; and next them this territory of Cissia, in 
which Susa is situated, on this river Choaspes, and here the great 
king resides, and here are his treasures of wealth. If you take 
this city, you may boldly contend with Jupiter in wealth. As it is, 
you carry on war for a country of small extent, and not very fer- 



CONQUESTS OF THE GENERALS OF DARIUS. 227 

tile, and of narrow limits, with the Messenians, who are your 
equals in valor, and with the Arcadians and Argives, who have 
nothing akin to gold or silver, the desire of which induces men to 
hazard their lives in battle. But when an opportunity is offered to 
conquer all Asia with ease, will you prefer any thing else ? " 
"Milesian friend," said Cleomenes, " I defer to give you an answer 
until the third day." They met at the appointed time and place, and 
Cleomenes asked Aristagoras, how many days' journey it was from 
the sea of the lonians to the king. Aristagoras, though he was 
cunning in other things, and had deceived him with much address, 
made a slip in this ; for he should not have told the real fact, if he 
wished to draw the Spartans into Asia ; whereas he told him 
frankly that it was a three months' journey up there. Cutting 
short the rest of the description which Aristagoras was proceeding 
to give of the journey, Cleomenes said : " My friend, from Miletus, 
depart from Sparta before sunset ; for you speak no agreeable 
lanorua^e to the Lacedaemonians, in wishinof to lead them a three 
months' journey from the sea ; " and Cleomenes went home. 
Aristagoras, nothing daunted, taking an olive-branch in his hand, 
went to the house of Cleomenes, entered in, as a suppliant, and 
besought Cleomenes to listen to him. The latter's little child, a 
daughter, whose name was Gorgo, stood by him ; she happened 
to be his only child, and was about eight or nine years of age. 
Cleomenes bade him say what he wished, and not mind the pres- 
ence of the little girl. Thereupon Aristagoras promised him ten 
talents, if he would do as he desired ; and as Cleomenes refused, 
Aristagoras went on increasing his offers, until he promised fifty 
talents, when little Gorgo cried out, " Papa, this stranger will cor- 
rupt you, if you don't quickly depart." Cleomenes, pleased with 
the advice of the child, retired to another apartment ; and Arista- 
goras was forced to leave Sparta altogether, without ever getting 
another opportunity to give further particulars of the route to the 
city of the great king. 

With respect to this road, the case is as follows : There are 
royal stations all along, and excellent inns, and the whole road is 
through an inhabited and safe country. There are twenty stations 



228 HERODOTUS. 

extending through Lydia and Phrygia, and the distance is ninety- 
four parasangs and a half. After Phrygia, the river Halys is met 
with, at which there are gates, which it is absolutely necessary to 
pass through, and thus to cross the river ; there is also a consider- 
able fort on it. When you cross over into Cappadocia, and tra- 
verse that country to the borders of Cilicia, there are eight and 
twenty stations, and one hundred and four parasangs ; and on the 
borders of these people, you go through two gates, and pass by 
two forts. When you have gone through these and made the 
journey through Cilicia, there are three stations, and fifteen para- 
sangs and a half. The boundary of Cilicia and Armenia is a river 
that is crossed in boats, called the Euphrates. In Arminia there 
are fifteen stations for resting-places, and fifty-six parasangs and a 
half; there is also a fort at the stations. Four rivers that are 
crossed in boats flow through this country, which it is absolutely 
necessary to ferry over. First, the Tigris ; then the second and 
third have the same name, though they are not the same river, 
nor flow from the same source. For the first mentioned of these 
flows from the Armenians, and the latter from the Matienians. 
The fourth river is called the Gyndes, which Cyrus once distributed 
into three hundred and sixty channels. As you enter from Ar- 
menia into the country of Matiene, there are four stations ; and 
from thence as you proceed to the Cissian territory there are 
eleven stations, and forty-two parasangs and a half, to the river 
Choaspes, which also must be crossed in boats ; on this Susa is 
built. All these stations amount to one hundred and eleven,* as 
you go up from Sardis to Susa. Now if the royal road has been 
correctly measured in parasangs, and if the parasang is equal to 
thirty stades, as indeed it is, from Sardis to the royal palace, called 
Memnonia, is a distance of thirteen thousand five hundred stades, 
the parasangs being four hundred and fifty ; and by those who 
travel one hundred and fifty stades every day, just ninety days are 
spent on the journey. So Aristagoras spoke correctly when he 
stated the distance to Susa. 

* The detail of stations above-mentioned gives only eighty-one instead of one hundred and 
eleven. The discrepancy can only be accounted for by a supposed defect in the manuscripts. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE IONIAN REVOLT. 

Aristagoras the Milesian, having been expelled from Sparta 
by Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian, repaired to Athens ; for this 
city was much more powerful than the rest. Presenting himself 
before the people, he said the same that he had done at Sparta, 
respecting the wealth of Asia and the Persian mode of warfare, 
how they used neither shield nor spear, and could be easily con- 
quered. He said also that the Milesians were a colony of the 
Athenians, and it was but reasonable that they, having such great 
power, should rescue them. And as there was nothing he did not 
promise, being very much in earnest, at length he persuaded them. 
It appears to be more easy to impose upon a multitude than one 
man ; this schemer, you see, was not able to impose upon Cleo- 
menes the Lacedaemonian singly, but did upon thirty thousand 
Athenians. Twenty ships were sent to succor the lonians, and 
Melanthius commander over them, a citizen who was universally 
esteemed. These ships proved the source of calamities both to 
Greeks and barbarians. Aristagoras sailed first, arrived at Miletus, 
and had recourse to a project from which no advantage could re- 
sult to the lonians ; nor did he employ it for that purpose, but 
that he might vex king Darius. He sent a man into Phrygia, to 
the Paeonians, who had been carried away captive by Megabazus, 
from the river Strymon, and occupied a tract in Phrygia, and a 
village by themselves. Arrived among the Paeonians, the mes- 
senger spoke as follows : " Men of Paeonia, Aristagoras, tyrant of 
Miletus, has sent me to suggest to you a mode of deliverance, if 
you will take his advice. For all Ionia has revolted from the king, 
and offers you an opportunity of returning safe to your own coun- 



230 HERODOTUS. 

try ; as far as to the coast take care of yourselves, and we will pro- 
vide for the rest." When the Paeonians heard these words, they 
considered it a very joyful event, and taking with them their chil- 
dren and wives, fled to the coast ; though some of them, through 
fear, remained where they were. When the Paeonians reached 
the coast, they crossed over to Chios, when a large body of Persian 
cavalry came on their heels, and sent orders to Chios to the Pae- 
onians, commanding them to return. The Paeonians did not listen 
to the proposal ; but the Chians conveyed them to Lesbos, and 
the Lesbians forwarded them to Doriscus ; thence proceeding on 
foot they reached Paeonia. 

The Athenians arrived with twenty ships, bringing with them 
five triremes of the Eretrians, who engaged in this expedition out 
of good-will to the Milesians, in order to repay a former obliga- 
tion ; for the Milesians had formerly joined the Eretrians in the 
war aeainst the Chalcidians. When these had arrived, and the 
rest of the allies had come up, Aristagoras resolved to make an 
expedition to Sardis. He himself did not march with the army, 
but remained at Miletus, and appointed as generals of the Mile- 
sians, his own brother Charopinus, and of the other citizens Her- 
mophantus. The lonians arrived at Ephesus with this force, left 
their ships at Coressus, in the Ephesian territory, and advanced 
with a numerous army, taking Ephesians for their guides ; and 
marching by the side of the river Cayster, they crossed Mount 
Tmolus, and reached and took Sardis without opposition ; all ex- 
cept the citidel, for Artaphernes with a strong garrison defended 
the citidel. The following accident prevented them, after they 
had taken the city, from plundering it. Most of the houses in 
Sardis were built with reeds ; and such of them as were built with 
brick, had roof of reeds. A soldier happened to set fire to one of 
these, and immediately the flame spread from house to house, and 
consumed the whole city. Wliile the city was burning, the 
Lydians, and as many of the Persians as were in the city, being 
enclosed on every side, and having no means of escaping from the 
city, rushed together to the market-place, and to the river Pacto- 



THE IONIAN RE VOL T. 231 

lus, which, bringing down grains of gold from Mount Tmolus, flows 
through the middle of the market-place, and then discharges itself 
into the river Hermus, and that into the sea. The Lydians and 
Persians, being assembled on this Pactolus and at the market- 
place, were constrained to defend themselves : and the lonians, 
seeing some of the enemy standing on their defence, and others com- 
ing up in great numbers, retired through fear to the mountain called 
Tmolus, and thence under favor of the night retreated to their 
ships. Thus Sardis was burnt, and in it the temple of the native 
goddess Cybebe ; the Persians, making a pretext of this, after- 
wards burnt in retaliation the temples of Greece. As soon as the 
Persians who had settlements on this side the river Halys were in- 
formed of these things, they drew together and marched to assist 
the Lydians ; the lonians were no longer at Sardis ; but following 
on their track they overtook them at Ephesus, where the lonians 
drew out in battle-array against them, and coming to an engage- 
ment, were sorely beaten ; and the Persians slew many of them, 
among other persons of distinction, Eualcis, general of the Ere- 
trians, who had gained the prize in the contests for the crown, and 
had been much celebrated by Simonides the Cean. Those who 
escaped from the battle were dispersed throughout the cities. 

Such was the result of the encounter. Afterward, the Athen- 
ians, totally abandoning the lonians, though Aristagoras urgendy 
solicited them by ambassadors, refused to send them any assist- 
ance. The lonians, deprived of the alliance of the Athenians, (for 
they had conducted themselves in such a manner toward Darius 
from the first.) nevertheless prepared for war with the king. And 
sailing to the Hellespont, they reduced Byzantium and all the 
other cities in that quarter to their obedience. They then sailed out 
of the Hellespont, and gained over to their alliance the greater part 
of Caria ; for the city of Caunus, which before would not join their 
alliance, when they had burnt Sardis, came over to their side. 

When it was told king Darius, that Sardis had been taken and 
burnt by the Athenians and lonians, and that Aristagoras the 
Milesian was the chief of the confederacy and the contriver of 



232 HERODOTUS. 

that enterprise, it is related that he took no account of the lonians, 
well knowing that they would not escape unpunished for their re- 
bellion, but inquired where the Athenians were ; then having been 
informed, he called for a bow% put an arrow into it, let it fly toward 
heaven, and as he shot it into the air, exclaimed : " O Jupiter, grant 
that I may revenge myself on the Athenians ! " Then he com- 
manded one of his attendants, every time dinner was set before 
him, to say thrice : " Sire, remember the Athenians." Summoning 
to his presence Histiseus the Milesian, whom he had already de- 
tained a long time, Darius said : " I am informed, Histiseus, that 
your lieutenant, to whom you intrusted Miletus, has attempted in- 
novations airainst me ; for he has brouMit men from the other con- 
tinent, and with them lonians, who shall give me satisfaction for 
what they have done ; and has deprived me of Sardis. Now, can it 
appear to you that this is right ? Could such a thing have been done 
without )'our advice ? Beware lest hereafter you expose yourself 
to blame." To this Histiseus answered : " O king, what have you 
said ? That I should advise a thing from which any grief, great 
or little, should ensue to you ! With what object should I do so ? 
What am I in want of? I, who have all things the same as you, 
and am deemed worthy to share all your counsels ? But if my 
lieutenant has done any such thing as you mention, be assured he 
has done it of his own contrivance. But I do not believe the ac- 
count, that the Milesians and my lieutenant have attempted any 
innovations against your authority. Yet if you have heard the 
truth, consider, O king, what mischief you have done in withdraw- 
ing me from the coast. For the lonians seem, when I was out of 
their sight, to have done what they long ago desired to do ; and 
had I been in Ionia not one city would have stirred. Suffer me 
therefore to go with all speed to Ionia, that I may restore all things 
there to their former condition, and deliver into your hands this 
lieutenant of Miletus, who has plotted the whole. When I have 
done this according to your mind, I swear by the royal gods, not 
to put off the garments which I shall wear when I go down to 
Ionia, before I have made the great island Sardinia tributary to 



THE IONIAN REVOLT. 233 

you." His speaking thus deceived the king ; Darius was persuaded, 
and let him go, charging him to return to Susa, as soon as he 
should have accomplished what he had promised. 

While the news concerning Sardis was going up to the king, 
tidings were brought to Onesilus the Salaminian, as he was be- 
sieging the Amathusians, that Artybius, a Persian, leading a large 
Persian force on shipboard, was to be expected in Cyprus. Onesi- 
lus accordingly sent heralds to the different parts of Ionia, invit- 
ing them to assist him ; and the lonians, without any protracted 
deliberation, arrived at Cyprus with a large armament. The Per- 
sians crossed over in ships from Cilicia, and marched by land 
aofainst Salamis. 

Then the kings of the Cyprians drew up their forces in line, 
and stationed the best of the Salaminians and Solians against the 
Persians. Onesilus voluntarily took up his position directly 
against Artybius, the general of the Persians. Artybius used to 
ride on a horse, that had been taught to rear up against an armed 
enemy. Onesilus had a shield-bearer, a Carian, well skilled in 
matters of war, and otherwise full of courage, to whom he said : 
" I am informed that the horse of Artybius rears up, and with his 
feet and mouth attacks whomsoever he is made to eneaee with : 
tell me which you will watch and strike, whether the horse or Ar- 
tybius himself." His attendant answered : " I am ready to do both, 
or either of them, but a king and a general ought, I think, to engage 
with a king and a general. If you vanquish one who is a general, 
your glory is great ; while if he should vanquish you, v;hich may 
the gods avert, to fall by a noble hand is but half the calamity. We 
servants should engage with other servants, and also against a 
horse, whose tricks you need not fear at all ; for I promise you he 
shall never again rear up against any man." Forthwith the forces 
joined battle by land and sea. Now, the lonians fought valiantly 
on that day, when the armies met in close combat ; and when 
Artybius, seated on his horse, bore down upon Onesilus, Onesilus, 
as he had concerted with his shield-bearer, struck Artybius him- 
self ; and as the horse was throwing his feet against the shield of 



234 HERODOTUS. 

Onesilus, the Carian with a scythe cut off the horse's feet. So 
that Artybius, the general of the Persians, fell together with his 
horse on the spot. While the rest were fighting, Stesenor, of 
Curium, deserted with no inconsiderable body of men, and the 
chariots of war belonging to the Salaminians did the same as the 
Curians. Consequently the Persians became superior to the 
Cyprians. The army was put to flight, many fell, and amongst 
them Onesilus, and the king of the Solians, Aristocyprus, son of 
the Philocyprus whom Solon the Athenian, when he visited 
Cyprus, celebrated in his verses above all tyrants. The Amathu- 
sians cut off the head of Onesilus, because he had besieged them, 
took it to Amathus, and suspended it over the gates ; and when 
the head had become hollow, a swarm of bees entered it, and 
filled it with honey-comb. An answer was given to the Amathu- 
sians, who consulted the oracle respecting it, " that they should 
take down the head and bury it, and sacrifice annually to Onesilus, 
as to a hero, and that it would turn out better for them." 

Afterward, the Persians crossed the Mseander and engaged 
the Carians on the banks of the river Marsyas. They fought an 
obstinate battle, and at last overpowered them. Of the Persians 
there fell about two thousand, and of the Carians ten thousand. 
The Carians, however, afterward recovered from this wound, and 
renewed the contest. For hearinsf that the Persians desio^ned to 
invade their cities, they placed an ambuscade on the way to 
Pedasus, into which the Persians, falling by night, were cut in 
pieces, with their generals Daurises, Amorges, and Sisamaces. 

Hymees, who was one of those who pursued the lonians that 
had attacked Sardis, bending his march toward the Propontis, took 
Cius of Mysia. When he heard that Daurises had quitted the 
Hellespont, and was marching against Caria, he abandoned the 
Propontis, and led his army on the Hellespont. He subdued all 
the Solians who inhabited the territory of Ilium, and subdued the 
Gergithae, the remaining descendants of the ancient Teucrians. 
Just then, however, he died of disease in the Troad. But Arta- 
phernes, governor of Sardis, and Otanes, who were appointed to 



THE IONIAN RE VOL T. 236 

invade Ionia and the neighboring territory of ^olia, took Claz- 
omenai and Cyme. 

Aristagoras the Milesian, for he was not, as it proved, a man 
of strong courage, after he had thus thrown Ionia into confusion, and 
raised great disturbances, thought of flight, when he saw these re- 
sults. Besides, it appeared to him impossible to overcome King 
Darius ; so calling his partisans together, he suggested " that it 
would be better for them to have some sure place of refuo-e, in 
case they should be expelled from Miletus." He asked, therefore, 
whether he should lead them to Sardinia, to found a colony, or to 
Myrcinus of the Edonians, which Histiseus had begun to fortify, 
having received it as a gift from Darius. However, the opinion of 
Hecataeus the historian, son of Hegesander, was, that they should 
set out for neither of these places, but should build a fortress in the 
island of Leros, and remain quiet, if they were compelled to quit 
Miletus. But Aristagoras himself was decidedly in favor of pro- 
ceeding to Myrcinus ; he therefore intrusted Miletus to Pythao-oras, 
a citizen of distinction, and, takinor with him all who were willino-. 
sailed to Thrace, and took possession of the region to which he 
was bound. But both Aristagoras himself and all his army per- 
ished while he was laying siege to a city in Thrace. 



BOOK VI. ERATO. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE SUPPRESSION OF THE IONIAN REVOLT. 

Aristagoras thus induced the lonians to revolt, and died ; and 
Histiaeus, tyrant of Miletus, repaired to Sardis. When he arrived 
from Susa, Artaphernes, Governor of Sardis, asked him for what 
reason he supposed the lonians had revolted. Histiseus said he 
did not know, and seemed surprised at what had happened, as if 
he knew nothing of the present state of affairs. But Artaphernes 
saw that he was dissembling, and being aware of the exact truth 
as to the revolt, said : " Histiseus, the state of the case is this : you 
made the shoe and Aristagoras has put it on." Histiseus in alarm 
fled to the coast as soon as niofht came on, and althougrh he had 
promised to reduce the great island of Sardinia for Darius, he in- 
sinuated himself into the command of the lonians in the war 
against him. At Chios he was taken and put in chains, being sus- 
pected by the Chians of planning some new design against them 
in favor of Darius. However, the Chians, being assured that he 
was an enemy to the king, released him, and conveyed him to 
Miletus, at his own request ; but the Milesians, delighted at being 
rid of Aristagoras, were by no means desirous to receive another 
tyrant into their country, as they had tasted of freedom. There- 
upon Histiseus, going down to Miletus by night, endeavored to 
enter it by force, but was wounded in the thigh by one of the 
Milesians. When he was repulsed from his own country, he went 
back to Chios, and from there, since he could not persuade the 
Chians to help him, he crossed over to Mitylene, and prevailed 



sufpjRession of the revolt. 237 

with the Lesbians to furnish him with ships ; they manned eight 
triremes, and sailed with Histiseus to Byzantium. There takino- 
up their station, they took all the ships that sailed out of the 
Pontus, except such of them as said they were ready to submit to 
Histiseus. 

But a large naval and land-force was expected against Miletus 
itself. For the Persian generals had united their forces and 
formed one camp to march to Miletus, deeming the other cities of 
less consequence. The lonians, hearing of this, sent their re- 
spective deputies to the Panionium, and determined not to as- 
semble any land-forces to oppose the Persians ; but bade the 
Milesians themselves defend their walls, while they should man 
their navy, without leaving a single ship behind, and assemble as 
soon as possible at Lade, to fight in defence of Miletus. Lade is 
a small island lying off the city of the Milesians. Soon the lonians 
came up with their ships manned, and formed their line, a fleet 
three hundred and fifty-three triremes strong. On the side of the 
barbarians the number of ships amounted to six hundred, and when 
they arrived on the Milesian coast, and all their land-forces had 
come up, the Persian generals began to fear they should not be 
strong enough to overcome them, and so should be also unable to 
take Miletus, since they were not masters at sea, and then might 
be in danger of receiving punishment at the hands of Darius. 
Taking these things into consideration, they summoned the tyrants 
of the lonians, who had been deprived of their governments by 
Aristagoras, and had fled to the Medes, and who happened at that 
time to be serving in the army against Miletus. " Men of Ionia," 
they said, " let each of you now show his zeal for the king's house. 
For let each of you endeavor to detach his own countrymen from 
the rest of the confederacy, and proclaim this, that they shall suffer 
no hurt on account of their rebellion, nor shall their buildings, 
whether sacred or profane, be burnt, nor shall they be treated with 
more severity than they were before. But if they do not do this, 
and will at all events come to the hazard of a battle, threaten that, 
when conquered in battle, they shall all be enslaved." And the 



238 HERODOTUS. 

tyrants of the lonians sent each by night to his own countrymen, 
to make known the warning. But the lonians to whom these 
messages came, continued firm to their purpose and would not 
listen to treachery ; for each thought that the Persians had sent 
this message. 

When the lonians had assembled at Lade, a council was held, 
and the Phocaean general Dionysius spoke as follows : " Our af- 
fairs are in a critical' state, O lonians ; we are to be freemen or 
slaves, and that too run-away slaves. But if you are willing to 
undergo hardships, for the present you will have to toil, but will be 
enabled, by overcoming your enemies, to be free ; on the other 
hand, if you abandon yourselves to ease and disorder, I have no 
hope that you will escape punishment at the hands of the king for 
your revolt. But be persuaded by me, and entrust yourselves to 
my guidance, and I promise you, that if the gods are impartial, 
either our enemies will not fight us at all, or if they do fight with 
us, they will be completely beaten." The lonians intrusted them- 
selves to the guidance of Dionysius without hesitation who daily 
led out the ships into a line, exercised the rowers, by practising the 
manoeuvre of cutting through one another's line, put the marines 
under arms, and kept the ships at anchor for the rest of the day. 
For seven days they continued to obey, but on the eighth the 
lonians, unaccustomed to such toil, and worn down by hardships 
and the heat of the sun, grumbled to each other in such terms as 
these : " What deity have we offended to fill up this measure of 
afiiliction ? we who were so beside ourselves, as to have intrusted 
ourselves to the guidance of a presumptuous Phocsean, who, all 
told, contributed only three ships, but having got us under his con- 
trol, afiiicts us with intolerable hardships. Many of us have al- 
ready fallen into distempers, and many more must expect to meet 
with the same fate. Instead of these evils, it would be better for us 
to suffer anything else, and to endure the impending servitude, be it 
what it may, than be oppressed by the present, Come, let us no 
longer obey him." And from that moment no one would obey ; 

' The Greek words, literally translated, mean "on a razor's edge." 



S UPPRESSION OF THE RE VOL T. 239 

but, pitching their tents on the island, they continued under the 
shade, and would not go on board the ships, or perform their ex- 
ercise. When the generals of the Samians observed what was 
passing among the lonians, and saw great disorder among them, 
they accepted the proposal of yEaces, son of Syloson, which he had 
before sent them at the desire of the Persians, exhorting them to 
abandon the confederacy of the lonians. Besides, it w^as clearly 
impossible for them to overcome the power of the king, because 
they were convinced, that if they should overcome Darius with his 
present fleet, another five times as large would come against them. 
So laying hold of this pretext, as soon as they saw the lonians re- 
fusing to behave well, they deemed it for their advantage to pre- 
serve their own buildings, sacred and profane. 

When therefore the Phoenicians sailed against them, the 
lonians drew out their ships in line to oppose them ; but when 
they came near and opposed each other, I am unable to affirm with 
certainty who of the lonians proved themselves cowards, or brave 
men, in this sea-fight ; for they mutually accuse each other. The 
Samians however are said at that moment to have hoisted sail, in 
pursuance of their agreement with yEaces, and steered out of the 
line to Samos, with the exception of eleven ships ; the captains of 
which stayed and fought, refusing to obey their commanders ; and 
for this action the commonwealth of the Samians conferred upon 
them the honor of having their names and ancestry engraved on a 
column, as those who had proved themselves valiant men ; and 
this column now stands in the forum. The Lesbians also, seeing 
those stationed next them flee, did the same as the Samians ; and 
most of the lonians followed their example. Of those that per- 
sisted in the battle, the Chians were most roughly handled, as they 
displayed signal proofs of valor, and would not act as cowards. 
They had contributed one hundred ships, and on board each of 
them forty chosen citizens served as marines ; and though they 
saw most of the confederates abandoning the common cause, they 
disdained to follow the example of their treachery ; but choosing 
rather to remain with the few allies, they continued the fight, cut- 



240 HERODOTUS. 

ting through the enemies' Hne, until, after they had taken many of 
the enemies' ships, they lost most of their own. The Chians then 
fled to their own country with the remainder of their fleet. Those 
Chians whose ships were disabled in the fight, took refuge in My- 
cale, ran their ships aground, and left them there, and marched 
over-land across the continent. On their return they entered the 
territory of Ephesus, and arrived near the city by night, at a time 
when the women were celebrating the Thesmophoria ; thereupon, 
the Epheslans, not having before heard how it had fared with the 
Chians, and seeing an army enter their territory, thinking they 
were certainly robbers, and had come to seize their women, rushed 
out in a body, and slew the Chians. When Dionysius the Phocsean 
perceived that the affairs of the lonians were utterly ruined, he took 
three of the enemies' ships and sailed away, not indeed to Phocaea, 
well knowine that it would be enslaved with the rest of Ionia, but 
directly to Phoenicia ; and there having disabled some merchant- 
men, and obtained great wealth, he sailed to Sicily, where he es- 
tablished himself as a pirate, attacking none of the Greeks, but 
only Carthaginians and Tyrrhenians. 

When the Persians had conquered the lonians in the sea-fight 
they besieged Miletus by land and sea, undermined the walls, and 
bringing up all kinds of military engines against it, took it com- 
pletely, in the sixth year after the revolt of Aristagoras. They re- 
duced the city to slavery, so that the event coincided with the 
oracle delivered concerning Miletus. For when the Argives con- 
sulted the oracle at Delphi respecting the preservation of their 
city, a double answer was given ; part concerning themselves, and 
the addition concerning the Milesians. The part relating to the 
Argives I will mention when I come to that part of the history ; 
the words the Pythian uttered relative to the Milesians, who were 
not present, were these : •' Then Miletus, contriver of wicked 
deeds, thou shalt become a feast and a rich gift to many : thy 
wives shall wash the feet of many long-haired masters, and our 
temple at Didymi shall be tended by others." These things befell 
the Milesians at that time ; for most of the men were killed by the 



SUFFRESSION OF THE REVOLT. 



241 



Persians, who wear long hair, their women and children were 
treated as slaves, and the sacred enclosure at Didymi, both the 
temple and the shrine, were pillaged and burnt. Of the riches in 
this temple I have frequently made mention in other parts of my 
history. Such of the Milesians as were taken alive were afterward 
conveyed to Susa ; and King Darius did them no harm, but settled 
them on the Red Sea, in the city of Ampe, near by which the Ti- 
gris falls into the sea. Of the Milesian territory, the Persians 
themselves retained the parts round the city and the plain ; the 
mountainous parts they gave to the Carians of Pedasus to occupy. 
When the Milesians suffered this at the hands of the Persians, the 
Sybarites, who inhabited Laos and Scydrus, did not show equal 




AMPHITHEATRE AT POLA. 



sympathy. But when Sybaris was taken by the Crotonians, all 
the Milesians of every age had shaved their heads and displayed 
marks of deep mourning : for these two cities had been more 
strictly united in friendship than any others we are acquainted with. 
The Athenians behaved in a very different manner ; for the 
Athenians made it evident that they were excessively grieved at the 
capture of Miletus, both in many other ways, and more particularly 
when Phrynichus had composed a drama of the capture of Miletus, 
and represented it, the whole theatre burst into tears, and fined 
him a thousand drachmas ' for renewing the memory of their do- 
mestic misfortunes ; and they gave order that henceforth no one 
should act this drama. 

'There is very good reason to believe that this fine was really imposed for the adoption of a 
modern theme by Phrynichus, when hitherto only the gods and heroes had been permissible sub- 
jects. 



242 HERODOTUS. 

While Histiseus the Milesian was near Byzantium, intercepting 
the trading ships of the lonians that sailed out of the Pontus, news 
was brought him of what had taken place at Miletus ; he therefore 
intrusted his affairs on the Hellespont to Bisaltes, son of Apol- 
lophanes, of Abydos, and with the Lesbians sailed to Chios, and 
engaged with a garrison of Chians, that would not admit him, at a 
place called Coeli in the Chian territory, and killed great numbers 
of them. The deity is wont to give some previous warning when 
any great calamities are about to befall city or nation, and before 
these misfortunes great warnings happened to the Chians. For in 
the first place, when they sent to Delphi a band of one hundred 
youths, two only of them returned home, for a pestilence seized 
and carried off the remaining ninety-eight. In the next place, a 
little before the sea-fight, a house in the city fell in upon some 
boys, as they were learning to read, so that of one hundred and 
twenty boys one only escaped. After this, the sea-fight following, 
threw the city prostrate ; and after the sea-fight Histiaeus with the 
Lesbians came upon them ; and as the Chians had been much 
shattered, he easily reduced them to subjection. From there His- 
tiaeus proceeded to attack Thasus with a large body of lonians and 
Cohans ; and while he was besieging Thasus, Harpagus, the 
Persian, general of a considerable army, who, happening to be in 
those parts, engaged with him after his landing, took Histiaeus 
himself prisoner, and destroyed the greater part of his army. 

Now if, when Histiaeus was taken prisoner, he had been con- 
ducted to king Darius, in my opinion, he would have suffered no 
punishment, and the king would have forgiven him his fault. But 
for this very reason, lest by escaping he should again regain his 
influence with the king, Artaphernes, Governor of Sardis, and 
Harpagus, who received him as soon as he was conducted to 
Sardis, impaled his body on the spot, and embalmed the head and 
sent it to Darius at Susa. Darius blamed those that had done it, 
because they had not brought him alive into his presence, and 
gave orders that they should wash and adorn the head of Histiaeus, 
and inter it honorably, as the remains of a man who had been a 
great benefactor to himself and the Persians. 



SUPPRESSION OF THE REVOLT. 243 

The naval force of the Persians wintered near Miletus. In the 
second year it set sail for the islands lying near the continent, 
Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos, which it easily subdued. When they 
took any one of these islands, the barbarians netted the inhabi- 
tants in this manner : Taking- one another by the hand, they 
would extend from the northern to the southern sea, and so march 
over the island, hunting out the inhabitants. They also took the 
Ionian cities on the continent with the same ease ; but did not net 
the inhabitants, for that was impossible. Thus the lonians were 
for the third time reduced to slavery ; first by the Lydians, then 
twice successively by the Persians. The* naval force, departing 
from Ionia, reduced all the places on the left of the Hellespont as 
one sails in ; and all the cities of the Chersonese, except Cardia, 
they subdued. 

Till that time Miltiades, son of Cimon, was tyrant of these 
cities, Miltiades, son of Cypselus, having formally acquired this 
government in the following manner : The Thracian Dolonci pos- 
sessed this Chersonese ; these Dolonci, being pressed in war by 
the Apsynthians, sent their kings to Delphi to consult the oracle 
concerning the war ; the Pythian answered them, " that they 
should take that man with them to their country to found a colony, 
who after their departure from the temple should first offer them 
hospitality." Accordingly the Dolonci, going by the sacred way, 
went through the territories of the Phocians and Boeotians, and 
when no one invited them, turned out of the road toward Athens. 
At that time Pisistratus had the supreme power at Athens ; but 
Miltiades, son of Cypselus, had considerable influence ; he was of 
a family that maintained horses for the chariot-races, and was 
originally descended from yEacus and ^gina, but in later times 
was an Athenian, Philseus, son of Ajax, having been the first 
Athenian of that family. This Miltiades, being seated in his own 
portico, and seeing the Dolonci passing by, wearing a dress not 
belonging to the country, and carrying javelins, called out to them ; 
and upon their coming to him, he offered them shelter and hospi- 
tality. They, gratefiil for their entertainment, made known to him 



244 HERODOTUS. 

the whole oracle, and entreated him to obey the deity. Their 
words persuaded Miltiades as soon as he heard them, for he was 
troubled with the government of Pisistratus, and desired to get 
out of his way. He therefore immediately set out to Delphi to 
ask the oracle whether he should do that which the Dolonci re- 
quested of him. The Pythian having bade him do so, Miltiades 
took with him all such Athenians as were willing to join in the ex- 
pedition, and set sail with the Dolonci, and took possession of the 
country; and they who introduced him appointed him tyrant. He, 
first of all, built a wall on the isthmus of the Chersonese, from the 
city of Cardia to Pactya, in order that the Apsynthians might not 
be able to injure them by making incursions into their country. 
The width of this isthmus is thirty-six stades ; and from this 
isthmus the whole Chersonese inward is four hundred and twenty 
stades in length. Miltiades next made war upon the Lampsaceni- 
ans, who laid an ambush and took him prisoner. But Miltiades 
was well known to Croesus, who, on hearing of this event, sent and 
commanded the Lampsacenians to release Miltiades ; if not, he 
threatened that he would destroy them like a pine-tree. The 
Lampsacenians, uncertain as to what was the meaning of this say- 
ing, discovered, with some difficulty, from one of the elders, that 
the pine alone of all trees, when cut down, does not send forth any 
more shoots, but perishes entirely : whereupon the Lampsaceni- 
ans, dreading the power of Crcesus, set Miltiades at liberty. He 
accordingly escaped by means of Croesus, and afterward died child- 
less, having bequeathed the government and his property to Stes- 
agoras, his brother by the same mother. When he was dead the 
Chersonesians sacrificed to him, as is usual to a founder, and insti- 
tuted equestrian and gymnastic exercises, in which no Lampsa- 
cenian is permitted to contend. The war with the Lampsacenians 
still continuing, it also befell Stesagoras to die childless ; being 
struck on the head with an axe in the prytaneum, by a man who 
in pretence was a deserter, but was in fact an enemy, and a very 
vehement one. 

Upon the death of Stesagoras, the Pisistratidae sent Miltiades, 



SUPPRESSION OF THE REVOLT. 245 

son of Cimon, and brother of Stesagoras who had died, with one 
ship to the Chersonese, to assume the government ; they had also 
treated him with kindness at Athens, as if they had not been 
parties to the death of his father Cimon. Miltiades having arrived 
in the Chersonese, kept himself at home under color of hon- 
oring the memory of his brother Stesagoras, and the prin- 
cipal persons of all the cities assembled together from every 
quarter, and came in a body with the intention of condoling with 
him, whereupon they were all thrown into chains by him. Thus 
Miltiades got possession of the Chersonese, maintaining five hun- 
dred auxiliaries, and married Hegesipyle, daughter of Olorus, King 
of the Thracians. This Miltiades, son of Cimon, had lately arrived 
in the Chersonese, but having heard that the Phoenicians were at 
Tenedos, he loaded five triremes with the property he had at hand, 
and sailed away for Athens. But when he had set out from the 
city of Cardia, he sailed through the gulf of Melas, and as he was 
passing by the Chersonese, the Phoenicians fell in with his ships. 
Miltiades himself escaped with four of the ships to Imbrus, but the 
fifth the Phoenicians pursued and took ; of this ship, Metiochus, the 
eldest of the sons of Miltiades, happened to be commander, whom 
the Phoenicians took together with the ship. When they heard 
that he was son of Miltiades, they took him up to the king, 
thinking that they should obtain great favor for themselves, be- 
cause Miltiades had given an opinion to the lonians advising them 
to comply with the Scythians, when the Scythians requested them 
to loose the bridge and return to their own country. But Darius 
did the young man no injury, but many favors ; for he gave him a 
house and an estate, and a Persian wife, by whom he had children, 
who were reckoned among the Persians. Meantime Miltiades 
arrived safely at Athens. 



CHAPTER II. 

EXPEDITION OF MARDONIUS. 

In the beginning of the spring, the other generals were dis- 
missed by the king, but Mardonius, son of Gobryas, went down to 
the coast, taking with him a very large land-army, and a numerous 
naval force : he was young in years, and had lately married king 
Darius' daughter, Artazostra. When he arrived in Cilicia, and 
had gone in person on board ship, he proceeded with the rest of the 
fleet, while the other generals led the land-army to the Hellespont. 
When Mardonius reached Ionia, he did a thing, which, when I 
mention it, will be a matter of very great astonishment to those 
Greeks, who cannot believe that Otanes, one of the seven Persians, 
gave an opinion that it was right for the Persians to be governed 
by a democracy ; for Mardonius deposed the tyrants of the lonians, 
and established democracies jn the cities. 

After this, Darius made trial of what were the intentions of the 
Greeks, whether to make war with him or to deliver themselves 
up. He therefore despatched heralds, appointing different persons 
to go to different parts throughout Greece, with orders to ask 
earth and water for the kinof, the Persian method of demandinof 
submission. These he sent to Greece, and despatched other her- 
alds to the tributary cities on the coast, with orders to build ships 
of war and transports for horses. To the heralds who came to 
Greece many of the inhabitants of the continent gave what the 
Persian demanded, as did all the islanders also, and moreover the 
^ginetae. whereupon the Athenians forthwith threatened them, 
thinking that the yEginetae had given earth and water out of ill- 
will toward themselves, in order that they might make war on 
them in conjunction with the Persian. And the Athenians laying 



EXPEDITION OF MARDONIUS. 247 

hold of the pretext, sent to Sparta to accuse the yEginetae of what 
they had done as betraying Greece. 

The Spartans say, that once upon a time there Hved in Lace- 
daemon one Glaucus, son of Epicydes. This man attained to the 
first rank in all respects, and bore the highest character for justice 
of all who at that time dwelt at Lacedaemon, In the course of 
time a certain Milesian came to Sparta and wished to have a con- 
ference with him, and said : " I am a Milesian, and have come, 
Glaucus, with the desire of profiting by your justice, of which, 
throughout all the rest of Greece, and particularly in Ionia, there 
is great talk. Ionia is so continually exposed to great dangers, 
while with us one can never see the same persons retaining 
property. Having, therefore, reflected and deliberated on these 
things, I determined to change half of my whole substance into 
silver and deposit it with you, being well assured that with you, it 
would be safe. Do you, then, take this money, and preserve these 
tokens; and whosoever possessing these shall demand it back 
again, restore it to him." So spoke the stranger who came from 
Miletus, and Glaucus received the deposit, on the condition men- 
tioned. After a long time had elapsed, the sons of this man who 
had deposited the money came to Sparta, and addressed them- 
selves to Glaucus, showed the tokens, and demanded back the 
money. Glaucus repulsed them, answering as follows: 'T don't 
remember the matter, nor any of the circumstances you mention ; 
but if I can recall it to my mind, I am willing to do every thing that 
is just; if I really received it, I wish to restore it correctly; but if 
I have not received it at all, I shall have recourse to the laws of 
the Greeks against you. I therefore defer setding this matter with 
you for four months from the present time." The Milesians in dis- 
appointment departed, taking gready to heart the loss of their 
money. But Glaucus went to Delphi to consult the oracle ; and, 
when he asked the oracle whether he should make a booty of the 
money by an oath, the Pythian assailed him in the following words : 
"Glaucus, son of Epicydes, thus to prevail by an oath, and to make 
a booty of the money, will be a present gain. But there is a 



248 HERODOTUS. 

nameless son of Perjury, who has neither hands nor feet; he 
pursues swiftly, until he has seized and destroyed the whole 
race, and all the house of him who has falsely sworn. But the 
race of a man who keeps his oath is afterward more blessed. 
Glaucus, hearing this, entreated the god to pardon the words he 
had spoken. But the Pythian said, that to tempt the god, and to 
commit the crime, were the same thing. So Glaucus sent for the 
Milesian strangers, and restored them the money. There is at 
present not a single descendant of Glaucus, nor any house which 
is supposed to have belonged to Glaucus ; but he is utterly extir- 
pated from Sparta. Thus it is right to have no other thought 
concerning a deposit, than to restore it when it is demanded. 

The ^ginetse, offended at what they considered a great affront, 
prepared to revenge themselves on the Athenians : and as the 
Athenians happened to have a five-benched galley at Sunium, 
they formed an ambuscade and took the ship " Theoris," ' filled 
with the principal Athenians, and put the men in chains. The 
Athenians, thus treated by the /Eginetse, no longer delayed to de- 
vise all sorts of plans against them. Now there was in yEgina an 
eminent man named Nicodromus, son of Cnoethus ; incensed 
against the yEginetse on account of his former banishment from 
the island, and now hearing that the Athenians were preparing to 
do a mischief to the ^ginetse, he entered into an agreement with 
the Athenians for the betrayal of ^Egina, mentioning on what day 
he would make the attempt, and on what it would be necessary 
for them to come to his assistance. Nicodromus, according to his 
agreement, on the appointed day seized that which is called the 
old town. The Athenians, however, did not arrive at the proper 
time, for they happened not to have a sufficient number of ships 
to engage with the ^ginetse ; and while they were entreating the 
Corinthians to furnish them with ships, their plan was ruined. The 
Corinthians, for they were then on very friendly terms with them, at 
their request supplied the Athenians with twenty ships, hiring 

' The " Theoris " was a vessel which was sent every year to Delos to offer sacrifice to 
Apollo. 



2 5o HERODOTUS. 

them out at a nominal price of five drachmae each ; because by their 
laws they were forbidden to give them for nothing. The Athen- 
ians, taking these and their own, manned seventy ships in all, 
sailed to ^gina, and arrived one day after that agreed upon. 
When the Athenians did not arrive at the proper time, Nicodro- 
mus embarked on shipboard and made his escape from ^gina ; 
and others of the -^ginetse accompanied him, to whom the Athen- 
ians gave Sunium for a habitation ; and they, sallying from thence, 
plundered the ^ginetse in the island. This, however, happened 
subsequently. In the meantime the most wealthy of the ^ginetae 
overpowered the common people, who, together with Nicodromus, 
had revolted against them, and led them out to execution. On 
this occasion they incurred a guilt, which they were unable to ex- 
piate by any contrivance, as they were ejected out of the island 
before the goddess became propitious to them. For having taken 
seven hundred of the common people prisoners, they led them 
out to execution ; and one of them, who escaped from his bonds, 
fled to the porch of Ceres the lawgiver, and seizing the door- 
handle, held it fast ; when they were unable by dragging to tear 
him away, they cutoff his hands, and so took him away ; and the 
hands were left sticking on the door-handles. So did the ^ginetse 
treat their own people. But when the Athenians arrived with 
their seventy ships, they came to an engagement, and being con- 
quered in the sea-fight, they called upon the same persons as be- 
fore for assistance, that is, on the Argives. They, however, would 
not any longer succor them, but complained that the ships of the 
^ginetae, having been forcibly seized by Cleomenes, had touched 
on the territory of Argos, and the crews had disembarked with the 
Lacedaemonians. Some men had also disembarked from Sicyonian 
ships in the same invasion ; and a penalty was imposed upon them 
by the Argives, to pay a thousand talents, five hundred each. 
The Sicyonians, acknowledging that they had acted unjustly, made 
an agreement to pay one hundred talents, and be free from the 
rest ; but the v^ginetae would not own themselves in the wrong, 
and were very obstinate. On this account, therefore, none of the 



EXPEDITION OE MARDONIUS. 25 1 

Argives were sent by the commonwealth to assist them ; but, on 
their request, volunteers went to the number of a thousand ; a 
general, whose name was Eurybates, and who had practised for 
the pentathlon, led them. The greater number of these never re- 
turned home, but were slain by the Athenians in vagina. The 
general, Eurybates, engaging in single combat, killed three several 
antagonists in that manner, but was slain by the fourth, Sophanes 
of Decelea. But the yEginetae attacked the fleet of the Athen- 
ians when they were in disorder, and obtained a victory, and took 
four of their ships with the men on board. 



CHAPTER III. 

EXPEDITION OF DATIS AND ARTAPHERNES ; THE BATTLE 
OF MARATHON. 

War was accordingly kindled between the Athenians and 
yEginetse. But the Persian pursued his own design, for the ser- 
vant continually reminded him to remember the Athenians, and 
the Pisistratidse constantly importuned him and accused the Athen- 
ians ; and at the same time Darius was desirous of subduing those 
people of Greece who had refused to give him earth and water. He 
therefore dismissed Mardonius from his command, because he had 
succeeded ill in his expedition ; and appointed other generals, 
whom he sent against Eretria and Athens, namely, Datis, who was 
a Mede by birth, and Artaphernes, son of Artaphernes, his own 
nephew ; and he despatched them with strict orders to enslave 
Athens and Eretria, and bring the bondsmen into his presence. 
When these generals who were appointed left the king, and 
reached the Aleian plain of Cilicia, bringing with them a numerous 
and well-equipped army, they encamped there until the whole 
naval force required from each people came up : the horse-trans- 
ports were also present, which Darius in the preceding year had 
commanded his tributaries to prepare. They put the horses on 
board of these, and embarked the land-forces in the ships, and 
sailed for Ionia with six hundred triremes. From there they did 
not steer their ships along the continent direct to the Hellespont 
and Thrace ; but parting from Samos they bent their course 
across the Icarian sea, and through the islands, dreading the cir- 
cumnavigation of Athos, because in the preceding year, in attempt- 
ing a passage that way, they had sustained great loss. 

While they were doing this, the Delians also, abandoning 



EXPEDITION OF DA TIS. 2 5 



o 



Delos, fled to Tenos ; but as the fleet was sailing- down toward it, 
Datis would not permit the ships to anchor near the island, but 
further on, off" Rhenea ; and he, having ascertained where the 
Delians were, sent a herald and addressed them as follows : 
" Sacred men, why have you fled, forming an unfavorable opinion 
of me ? For both I myself have so much wisdom, and am so 
ordered by the king, that in the region where the two deities ' 
were born, no harm should be done either to the country itself or 
its inhabitants. Return, therefore, to your houses, and resume 
possession of the island." This message he sent to the Delians 
by means of a herald ; and afterward heaped up three hundred 
talents of frankincense upon the altar, and burnt it. Then Datis 
sailed with the army first against Eretria, taking with him both 
lonians and yEolians. But after he had put out to sea from there, 
Delos was shaken by an earthquake, as the Delians say, the first 
and last time that it was ever so affected. And the deity assuredly 
by this portent intimated to men the evils that were about to befall 
them. For during the three successive reigns of Darius, son of 
Hystaspes, of Xerxes, son of Darius, and of Artaxerxes, son of 
Xerxes, more disasters befell Greece than during the twenty gen- 
erations that preceded the time of Darius, partly brought upon it 
by the Persians, and partly by the chief men amongst them con- 
tending for power. So that it is not at all improbable that Delos 
should be moved at that time, though until then unmoved ; and in 
an oracle respecting it, it had been thus written : " I will move 
even Delos, although hitherto unmoved." And in the Greek 
language these names mean : Darius, " one who restrains " ; 
Xerxes, " a warrior " ; and Artaxerxes, " a mighty warrior." 

After the barbarians had parted from Delos, and touched at 
the islands, they took with them men to serve in the army, and 
carried away the sons of the islanders for hostages. Having sub- 
dued Eretria, and rested a few days, they sailed to Attica, pressing 
the inhabitants very close, and expecting to treat them in the same 
way as they had the Eretrians. Now as Marathon was the spot 

' Apollo and Diana. 



254 HERODOTUS. 

in Attica best adapted for cavalry, and nearest to Eretria, they 
gathered their forces there. When the Athenians heard of this, 
they also sent their forces to Marathon : and ten generals led 
them, of whom the tenth was Miltiades, whose father, Cimon, had 
been banished from Athens by Pisistratus. During his exile, it was 
his good fortune to obtain the Olympic prize in the four-horse chariot 
race, the honor of which victory he transferred to Miltiades, his 
brother by the same mother ; afterward, in the next Olympiad, 
being victorious with the same mares, he permitted Pisistratus to 
be proclaimed victor, and returned home under terms. But after 
he had gained a third Olympic prize with the same mares, it hap- 
pened that he died by the hands of the sons of Pisistratus, when 
Pisistratus himself was no longer alive ; they slew him near the 
Prytaneum, having placed men to waylay him by night. Cimon 
was buried in front of the city, beyond that which is called the 
road to Coela, and opposite him these same mares were buried, 
which won the three Olympic prizes. Stesagoras, the elder son 
of Cimon, w^as at that time being educated by his uncle in the 
Chersonese, but the younger by Cimon himself at Athens, and he 
had the name of Miltiades, from Miltiades, the founder of the 
Chersonese. At that time, then, this Miltiades, coming from the 
Chersonese, and having escaped a twofold death, became general 
of the Athenians ; for in the first place, the Phoenicians pursued 
him as far as Imbros, exceedingly desirous of seizing him and car- 
rying him up to the king ; and in the next, when he had escaped 
them, and had returned to his own country, and thought himself 
in safety, his enemies attacked him, and brought him before a court 
of justice, to prosecute him for tyranny in the Chersonese. These 
also he escaped, and was at length appointed general of the 
Athenians by the choice of the people. 

And first, while the generals were yet in the city, they des- 
patched a herald to Sparta, one Phidippides, an Athenian, a courier 
by profession, who arrived in Sparta on the following day after his 
departure from the city of the Athenians, and on coming in pres- 
ence of the mao-istrates, said : " Lacedaemonians, the Athenians 



EXPEDITION OF DATIS. 255 

entreat you to assist them, and not to suffer the most ancient city 
among the Greeks to fall into bondage to barbarians ; for Eretria 
is already reduced to slavery, and Greece has become weaker by 
the loss of a renowned city." He delivered the message accord- 
ing to his instructions, and they resolved to assist the Athenians ; 
but it was out of their power to do so immediately, as they were 
unwilling to violate the law ; for it was the ninth day of the current 
month ; and they said they could not march out until the moon's 
circle should be full. 

Meanwhile the traitor Hippias, son of Pisistratus, had guided 
the barbarians to Marathon. He first of all landed the slaves from 
Eretria on the island of the Styreans, called yEgilia ; and next he 
moored the ships as they came to Marathon, and drew up the bar- 
barians as they disembarked on land. But as he was busied in 
doing this, it happened that he sneezed and coughed more violently 
than he was accustomed ; and as he was far advanced in years, 
several of his teeth were loose, so that through the violence of his 
cough he threw out one of these teeth. It fell on the sand, and 
he used every endeavor to find it ; but when the tooth could 
nowhere be found, he drew a deep sigh, and said to the by- 
standers : " This country is not ours, nor shall we be able to sub- 
due it ; whatever share belongeth to me, my tooth possesses." 

When the Athenians were drawn up in a place sacred to Her- 
cules, the Plataeans came to their assistance with all their forces. 
For the Plataeans had given themselves up to the Athenians, as 
the Athenians had already undergone many toils on their account. 

The opinions of the Athenian generals were divided : one party 
not consenting to engage, " because they were too few to engage 
with the army of the Medes " ; and the others, among whom was 
Miltiades, urging them to give battle. There was an eleventh 
voter who was appointed minister of war among the Athenians, 
who had an equal vote with the generals, and at that time Calli- 
machus of Aphidnae was minister of war. To him Miltiades came 
and spoke as follows : " It now depends on you, Callimachus, 
either to enslave Athens, or, by preserving its liberty, to leave a 



2 56 HERODOTUS. 

memorial of yourself to every age, such as not even Harmodius 
and Aristogeiton have left. For the Athenians were never in so 
great danger from the time they were first a people. If they suc- 
cumb to the Medes, it has been determined what they are to suffer 
when delivered up to Hippias ; but if the city survives, it will be- 
come the first of the Greek cities. How, then, this can be brought 
to pass, and how the power of deciding the matter depends on you, 
I will now proceed to explain. The opinions of us generals, who 
are ten, are equally divided ; the one party urging that we should 
eneaee, the other that we should not. Now, if we do not eno-aofe, 
I expect that some great dissension arising amongst us will shake 
the minds of the Athenians so as to induce them to a compliance 
with the Medes. But if we engage before any dastardly thought 
arises in the minds of some of the Athenians, if the gods are 
impartial, we shall be able to get the better in the engagement. 
All these things now entirely depend on you. For if you will sup- 
port my opinion, your country will be free, and the city the first in 
Greece ; but if you join with those who would dissuade us from an 
engagement, the contrary of the advantages I have enumerated 
will fall to your lot." Miltiades, by these words, gained over Cal- 
limachus, and it was determined to engage. Afterward the gen- 
erals whose opinions had been given to engage, as the command 
for the clay devolved upon each of them, gave it up to Miltiades ; 
but though he accepted it, he would not come to an engagement 
before his own turn to command came. 

The war-minister, Callimachus, commanded the right wing, for 
the law at that time was so settled among the Athenians ; the Pla- 
tseans were drawn out last of all, occupying the left wing. Now, 
ever since that battle, when the Athenians offer sacrifices and cele- 
brate the public festivals which take place every five years, the 
Athenian herald prays, saying : " May blessings attend both the 
Athenians and the Plataeans." Their line was equal in extent to 
the Medic line, but the middle of it was but few deep, and there 
the line was weakest, while each wing was strong in numbers. 
When they were drawn up, and the victims were favorable, the 



\i 



EXP EDI TION OF DA TIS. 2S']- 

Athenians, at the order to charge, advanced against the barbarians 
in double-quick time ; and the space between them was not less 
than eight stades. The Persians, seeing them charging at full 
speed, prepared to receive them, laughing at their madness when 
they saw that they were so few in number, and that they rushed on 
at full speed without cavalry or archers. The Athenians, however, 
when they engaged in close ranks with the barbarians, fought in a 
manner worthy of record. For they, the first of all the Greeks 
whom we know of, charged the enemy at full speed, and first en- 
dured the sight of the Medic garb and the men that wore it ; for 
until that time the very name of the Medes was a terror to the 
Greeks. The battle at Marathon lasted a long time : and in the 
middle of the line, where the Persians themselves and the Sacae 
were arrayed, the barbarians were victorious, and having broken 
the line, pursued to the interior ; but in both wings the Athenians 
and the Plataeans were victorious. Here they allowed the defeated 
portion of the barbarians to fiee ; and having united both wings, 
they fought with those who had broken their centre until at last 
the Athenians were victorious. They followed the Persians in 
their flight, cutting them to pieces, till, reaching the shore, they 
called for fire and attacked the ships. 

In this battle the brave war-minister, Callimachus, was killed, 
and among the generals, Stesilaus, son of Thrasylas, perished ; 
Cynaegeirus, son of Euphorion, laid hold of a ship's stern and had 
his hand severed by an axe and fell ; and besides, many other 
distinguished Athenians were slain. In this manner the Athenians 
made themselves masters of seven ships : but with the rest the 
barbarians rowed rapidly back, and after taking off the Eretrian 
slaves from the island in which they had left them, sailed round 
Sunium, wishing to anticipate the Athenians in reaching the 
city. But the Athenians marched with all speed to the assistance 
of the city, and reached it before the barbarians arrived ; and 
as they had come from the precinct of Hercules at Marathon, they 
took up their station in another precinct of Hercules at Cynos- 
arges. The barbarians, having laid to with their fleet off Phale- 



258 HERODOTUS. 

rum for a time, soon sailed away for Asia. In this battle at 
Marathon there died of the barbarians about six thousand four 
hundred men ; and of the Athenians, one hundred and ninety-two. 
An Athenian, Epizelus, son of Cuphagoras, while fighting in the 
medley, and behaving valiantly, was deprived of sight, though 
wounded in no part of his body, nor struck I'rom a distance ; and 
he continued to be blind from that time for the remainder of his 
life. I have heard that he used to give the following account 
of his loss. He thought that a large heavy-armed man stood be- 
fore him, whose beard shaded the whole of his shield ; that this 
spectre passed by him, and killed the man that stood by his side, 
smiting him with this loss as it passed. 

Kino- Darius, before the Eretrians were made captive, harbored 
a deep resentment against them, as the Eretrians had been the 
first to begin acts of injustice : but when he saw them brought into 
his presence, and subject to his power, he did them no other harm, 
but settled them in the Cissian territory at a station of his own, the 
name of which is Ardericca ; it is two hundred and ten stades dis- 
tant from Susa, and forty from the well which produces three dif- 
ferent substances ; for asphalt, salt, and oil are drawn up from it,, 
in the following manner. It is pumped up by means of a swipe, 
and, instead of a bucket, half of a wine-skin is attached to it ; having 
dipped down with this, a man draws it up and then pours the con- 
tents into a receiver ; and being poured from this into another, it 
assumes three different forms : the asphalt and the salt immedi- 
ately become solid, but the oil they collect, and the Persians call it 
rhadinace ; it is black and emits a strong odor. Here king Darius 
settled the Eretrians ; who, even to my time, occupied this terri- 
tory, retaining their ancient language. Two thousand of the 
Lacedaemonians came to Athens after the full moon, making such 
haste to be in time, that they arrived in Attica on the third day 
after leaving Sparta. Too late for the battle, they, nevertheless, 
proceeded to Marathon, saw the slain, commended the Athenians 
and their achievement, and returned home. 

After the defeat of the Persians at Marathon, Miltiades, asked 



EXPEDITION OF DATIS, 2 59 

cf the Athenians seventy ships, and troops, and money, without 
telHng them what country he purposed to invade, but saying that 
he would make them rich if they would follow him, for he would 
take them to a country, from which they would easily bring an 
abundance of gold, and the Athenians, elated by these hopes, 
granted the ships. Miltiades, accordingly took the troops and 
sailed against Paros, alleging as a pretext, that the Parians had 
first begun hostilities by sending a trireme with the Persians to 
Marathon. But his real reason was that he had a erudcre ao-ainst 

<-> o o 

the Parians on account of Lysagoras, son of Tisias, who was 
a Parian by birth and who had calumniated him to Hydarnes 
the Persian. Miltiades arrived with his forces and besieeed the 
Parians, who were driven within their walls ; and sent a herald to 
them to demand a hundred talents, saying, that if they did not 
furnish him that sum, he would not draw off his army until he had 
destroyed them. The Parians never entertained the thought of 
giving Miltiades any money ; but devised means by which they 
might defend the city ; and in several parts where the wall was 
most exposed to attack, they raised it, during the night, to double 
its former height. Up to this point of the story all the Greeks 
agree ; but after this the Parians themselves say that it happened 
as follows. That when Miltiades was in a state of perplexity, a 
captive woman, by birth a Parian, and named Timo, conferred with 
him ; she was an inferior priestess of the infernal goddesses. 
When she came into the presence of Miltiades, she advised him, if 
he deemed it of great consequence to take Paros, to act as she 
should suggest. Following out her suggestions he came to the 
mound before the city and leaped over the fence of Ceres Thes- 
mophora, as he was unable to open the door ; and went to the 
temple, for the purpose either to move some of the things that 
may not be moved, or to do something or other, I know not what. 
He was just at the door, when suddenly a thrill of horror came 
over him, and he went back by the same way ; and in leaping 
over the fence his thigh was dislocated, or his knee was hurt. 
Miltiades, in a bad plight, sailed back home, neither bringing 



2 6o HERO DO TUS. 

money to the Athenians, nor having reduced Paros, but having" 
besieged it for six and twenty days, and ravaged the island. 
When the Parians were informed that Timo, the priestess of the 
goddesses, had directed Mlltiades, they desired to punish her, and 
sent deputies to the oracle at Delphi, as soon as they were relieved 
from the siege, to inquire whether they should put to death the 
priestess of the goddesses, for having made known to the enemy 
the means of capturing the country, and for having discovered to 
Miltiades sacred things, which ought not to be revealed to the 
male sex. But the Pythian did not allow them, but said, " that 
Timo was not to blame for this, but that it was fated Miltiades 
should come to a miserable end, and she had appeared to him as a 
guide to misfortune." When Miltiades returned from Paros, the 
Athenians were loud in their complaints against him, especially 
Xanthippus, son of Ariphron, who brought a capital charge against 
Miltiades before the people, and prosecuted him for deception. 
Miltiades, though present in person, made no defence, through 
inability, as his thigh had begun to mortify But while he lay on 
a couch his friends made a defence for him, dwelling much on the 
battle that had been fought at Marathon, and on the capture of 
Lemnos ; since he had taken Lemnos, and inflicted vengeance on 
the Pelasgians, and had given it up to the Athenians. The people 
so far favored him as to acquit him of the capital offence, but fined 
him fifty talents for the injury he had done. Miltiades soon after 
ended his life by the mortification of his thigh, and his son Cimon 
paid the fifty talents. 



BOOK VII. POLYMNIA. 



CHAPTER I. 

DEATH OF DARIUS AND REIGN OF XERXES. 

When the news of the battle fought at Marathon reached 
Darius, who was before much exasperated with the Athenians on 
account of the attack upon Sardis, he grew still more eager to 
prosecute the war against Greece. He therefore immediately sent 
messengers to the several cities, and bade them prepare an army 
much greater than they had furnished before, and ships, horses, 
corn, and transports. Asia was thrown into agitation during the 
space of three years, the bravest men being enrolled and prepared 
for the purpose of invading Greece, In the fourth year the Egyp- 
tians, who had been subdued by Cambyses, revolted from the Per- 
sians ; whereupon Darius only became the more eager to march 
against both. Just then a violent dissension arose between the 
sons of Darius concerning the sovereignty ; for by the customs of 
the Persians he was obliged to nominate his successor before he 
marched out on any expedition. Before Darius became king, he 
had three sons born to him by his former wife, the daughter of 
Gobryas ; and after his accession to the throne, four others by 
Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, Of the former, Artabazanes was the 
eldest ; of those born after, Xerxes : and these two, not being of 
the same mother, were at variance. Artabazanes urged that he 
was the eldest of all the sons, and that it was the established usage 
among all men that the eldest son should succeed to the sovereignty : 
on the other hand, Xerxes alleged that he was son of Atossa, 
daughter of Cyrus, and that it was Cyrus who had acquired freedom 



2 62 HERODOTUS. 

for the Persians. At this very juncture, when Darius had not 
yet declared his opinion, Demaratus, son of Ariston, happened to 
come up to Susa, deprived of his kingly office at Sparta, and 
having imposed on himself a voluntary exile from Lacedsemon. 
This man went to Xerxes, as report has it, and advised him to say 
in addition to what he had already said, that " he was born after 
his father Darius had become king, and was possessed of the 
empire of the Persians ; whereas Artabazanes was born while he 
was yet a private person ; wherefore it was not reasonable or just 
that any other should possess that dignity in preference to himself 
"Since in Sparta also." Demaratus continued to suggest, " this cus- 
tom prevailed, that if some children were born before their father 
became king, and one was born subsequently, when he had 
come to the throne, this last-born son should succeed to the king- 
dom." Darius acknowledged this point, and declared Xerxes king. 
But it appears to me that even without this suggestion Xerxes 
would have been made king, for Atossa had unbounded influence. 
So Darius appointed Xerxes to be king over the Persians, and 
prepared to march. But just at this juncture, and in the year after 
the revolt of Egypt, Darius himself, while making preparations, 
died, having reigned thirty-six years in all ; nor was he able to 
avenge himself either on the Egyptians, who had revolted, or on 
the Athenians ; and when Darius was dead, the kingdom devolved 
on his son Xerxes. 

Xerxes was at first by no means inclined to make war against 
Greece, but he levied forces for the reduction of Egypt. Mardo- 
nius, son of Gobryas, who was cousin to Xerxes, and son of Da- 
rius' sister, and who had the p-reatest influence with him of all the 
Persians, constantly held the following language : " Sire, it is not 
right that the Athenians, who have already done so much mischief 
to the Persians, should go unpunished ? However, for the pres- 
ent, finish the enterprise you have in hand ; and when you have 
quelled the insolence of Egypt, lead your army against Athens ; 
that you may acquire a good reputation among men, and any one 
for the future may be cautious of marching against your territory." 



DEATH OF DARIUS. 263 

This language was used by him for the purpose of revenge, but he 
frequently made the following addition to it, that " Europe was a 
very beautiful country, and produced all kinds of cultivated trees, — 
and was very fertile, and worthy to be possessed by the king alone 
of all mortals." Mardonius was desirous of new enterprises, and 
wished to be himself governor of Greece, and in time he persuaded 
Xerxes to do as he advised. Xerxes, in the second year after the 
death of Darius, reduced all Egypt to a worse state of servitude 
than ever under Darius, and committed the government to 
Achsemenes, his brother. 

He then convoked an assembly of the principal Persians, that 
he might hear their opinions, and make known his intentions to 
them all. " Men of Persia," said Xerxes, " I learn from older men 
that we have never remained inactive since we wrested the sov- 
ereign power from the Medes, and Cyrus overthrew Astyages ; 
but the deity has led the way, and we have followed his guidance 
to our advantage. What deeds Cyrus and Cambyses and my 
father Darius have achieved, and what nations they have added to 
our empire, no one need mention to you who know them well. 
But since I have succeeded to the throne, I have carefully considered 
how I may not fall short of my predecessors in honor, nor acquire 
less additional power to the Persians." 

" I have now called you together, that I may communicate to you 
what I purpose to do. I intend to throw a bridge over the Helles- 
pont, and to march an army through Europe against Greece, that 
I may punish the Athenians for the injuries they have done to the 
Persians and to my father. You have already seen Darius pre- 
paring to make war against those people ; but he died, and had it 
not in his power to avenge himself. But I, in his cause and that 
of the other Persians, will not rest till I have taken and burnt 
Athens ; for they began by doing acts of injustice against my 
father and me. First they came to Sardis, with Aristagoras the 
Milesian, our servant, and burnt down the groves and the temples. 
You all know well enough how they treated us on our making a 
descent on their territory, when Datis and Artaphernes led our 



264 HERODOTUS. 

forces. For these reasons, therefore, I have resolved to make war 
upon them. And I am sure that if we subdue them, and their 
neighbors, who inhabit the country of Pelops the Phrygian, we 
shall make the Persian territory co-extensive with the air of 
heaven, for the sun will not look down upon any land that borders 
on ours. When I shall have informed you of the time, it will be 
the duty of each of you to come promptly. And whosoever shall 
appear with the best-appointed troops, to him I will give such 
presents as are accounted most honorable in our country." 

After this, when Xerxes had resolved to undertake the expedi- 
tion, a vision appeared to him in his sleep, which the magi inter- 
preted to signify that all mankind should serve him. Xerxes im- 
agined that he was crowned with the sprig of an olive tree, whose 
branches covered the whole earth ; and that afterward the crown 
that was placed on his head disappeared. After the magi had 
given this interpretation, all the Persians who were assembled de- 
parted immediately to their own governments, and used all diligence 
to execute what had been ordered, every man hoping to obtain 
the proposed reward ; Xerxes thus levied his army, searching out 
every region of the continent. He was employed four whole 
years in assembling his forces and providing things necessary for 
the expedition. In the fifth he began his march with a vast multi- 
tude of men. For this was by far the greatest of all the expedi- 
tions with which we are acquainted. What nation did not Xerxes 
lead out of Asia against Greece ? what stream, except that of great 
rivers, did not his army drink dry ? Some supplied ships ; 
others were ordered to furnish men for the infantry, others cavalry, 
some transports for horses, together with men to serve in the 
army ; others had to furnish long ships for the bridges, and others 
provisions and vessels. 

And first of all, as those who had first attempted to double 
Mount Athos had met with disaster, preparations were made for 
nearly three years to cut Athos off by a canal. Triremes were 
stationed at Eleus in the Chersonese, and from there men of every 
nation from the army dug under the lash. They went in succes- 



DBA TH OF DA RI US. 2 65 

sion ; and the people who dwelt round Athos dug also. Bubares, 
son of Megabazus, and Artachaeus, son of Artseus, both Persians, 
presided over the work. Athos is a vast and celebrated mountain, 
stretching into the sea, and inhabited by men. Where the moun- 
tain terminates toward the continent, it is in the form of a penin- 
sula connected with the continent by an isthmus of about twelve 
stades ; this is a plain with hills of no great height from the sea of 
the Acanthians to the sea which is opposite Torone. On this 
isthmus stands Sana, a Grecian city ; and on Athos itself are the 
cities of Dion, Olophyxus, Acrothoon, Thyssus, and Cleonae. To 
make the excavation the barbarians divided the eround amono- the 
several nations, having drawn a straight line near the city of Sana. 
When the trench was deep, some stood at the bottom and contin- 
ued to dig, and others handed the soil that was dug out to men 
who stood above on ladders ; they again in turn handed it to 
others, until they reached those that were at the top ; the last 
carried it off and threw it away. In the case of all, except the 
Phoenicians, the brink of the excavation fell in and gave double 
labor, for as they made the upper and the lower opening of equal 
dimensions, this must necessarily happen. But the Phoenicians, 
who show their skill in other works, did so especially in this ; for 
they dug the portion that fell to their share, making the upper 
opening of the trench twice as large as it was necessary for 
the trench itself to be ; and as the work proceeded they 
contracted it gradually, so that when they came to the bot- 
tom the work was equal in width to the rest ; near adjoinino- is a 
meadow, where they had a market and bazaar, and great abun- 
dance of meal was brought to them from Asia. According to my 
deliberate opinion, Xerxes ordered this excavation to be made 
from motives of ostentation, wishing to display his power, and to 
leave a memorial of himself. For though it was possible, without 
any great labor, to have drawn the ships over the isthmus, he 
commanded them to dig a channel for the sea of such a width that 
two triremes might pass through rowed abreast. And the same 
persons, to whom the excavation was committed, were ordered al- 



266 HERODOTUS. 

SO to throw a bridge over the river Strymon. He also caused 
cables of papyrus and of white flax to be prepared for the bridges, 
and ordered the Phoenicians and Egyptians to lay up provisions 
for the army, that neither the men nor the beasts of burden might 
suffer from famine on their march toward Greece, conveying them 
to various quarters in merchant-ships and transports from all parts 
of Asia. 

While these men were employed in their appointed task, the 
whole land-forces marched with Xerxes to Sardis, setting out from 
Critalla in Cappadocia, where it had been ordered that all the 
troops throughout the continent should assemble. They crossed 
the river Halys, entered Phrygia, and arrived at Celaenae, where 
rise the springs of the Maeander, and of another river not less than 
the Maeander, which is called the Catarractes, which, springing up 
in the very forum of the Celaenians, discharges itself into the 
Maeander ; in this city the skin of Silenus Marsyas is suspended, 
which, as the Phrygians report, was stripped off and suspended 
by Apollo. In this city Pythius, son of Atys, a Lydian, being in 
waiting, entertained the whole army of the king, and Xerxes him- 
self, with most sumptuous feasts; and he offered to contribute 
money toward the expense of the war. Xerxes asked the Persians 
near him who this Pythius was, and what riches he possessed, that 
he made such an offer. They answered : " O king, this is the 
person who presented your father Darius with the golden plane- 
tree and the vine ; and he is now the richest man we know of in 
the world, next to yourself" Xerxes in surprise next asked 
Pythius what was the amount of his wealth. He said : " O king, 
as soon as I heard you were coming down to the Grecian sea, 
wishing to present you with money for the war, I made inquiry, 
and found by computation that I had two thousand talents of silver, 
and of gold four millions of Doric staters, lacking seven thousand. 
These I freely give you ; for myself I have sufficient subsistence 
from my slaves and lands." Xerxes, delighted with his offer, 
replied : " My Lydian friend, since I left the Persian country I 
have met with no man to the present moment who was willing to 



268 HERODOTUS. 

entertain my army, or who, having come into my presence, has 
voluntarily offered to contribute money toward the war. But you 
have entertained my army magnificently, and have offered me vast 
sums ; in return for this, I make you my friend. Keep what you 
have acquired, and I will myself make up to you the seven thousand 
staters which you lack of four millions. Be careful always to con- 
tinue such as you are, and you shall never repent hereafter." 

From Phrygia he entered Lydia, crossed the river Maeander, 
and passed by the city of Callatebus, in which confectioners make 
honey with tamarisk and wheat. Xerxes, by the way, met with a 
plane-tree, which, on account of its beauty, he presented with 
golden ornaments, and having committed it to the care of one of 
the Immortals," on the next day he arrived at Sardis, the capital of 
the Lydians. 

In the meanwhile those who were appointed had joined 
the Hellespont from Asia to Europe. There is in the Chersonese 
on the Hellespont, between the city of Sestos and Madytus, 
a craggy shore extending into the sea, directly opposite Abydos. 
From this shore to Abydos, they had constructed two bridges, the 
Phoenicians one with white flax, and the Egyptians the other with 
papyrus. The distance is seven stades. When the strait was 
thus united, a violent storm arose and broke in pieces and 
scattered the whole work. When Xerxes heard of this, exceed- 
ingly indignant, he commanded that the Hellespont should be 
stricken with three hundred lashes with a scourge, and that a pair 
of fetters should be let down into the sea. I have moreover 
heard that with them he likewise sent branding instruments to 
brand the Hellespont. He certainly charged those who flogged 
the waters to utter these barbarous and impious words : " Thou 
bitter water ! thy master inflicts this punishment upon thee, 
because thou hast injured him, although thou hadst not suffered 
any harm from him. And king Xerxes will cross over thee, 
whether thou wilt or not ; it is with justice that no man sacrifices 

* One of the ten thousand chosen men called Immortals, of whom we shall hear more here- 
after. 



DEATH OF DARIUS. 269 

to thee, because thou art both a deceitful and briny river ! " He 
accordingly commanded them to chastise the sea in this manner, 
and to cut off the heads of those who had to superintend the join- 
ing of the Hellespont. They on whom this thankless office 
was imposed, carried it into execution ; and other engineers con- 
structed bridges in the following manner. They connected 
together penteconters and triremes, under the bridge toward the 
Euxine sea, three hundred and sixty ; and under the other, 
three hundred and fourteen, obliquely to the Pontus, but in 
the direction of the current of the Hellespont, that it might keep 
up the tension of the cables. They then let down very lono- 
anchors, some on the bridge toward the Pontus, on account of the 
winds that blew Irom it within ; others on the other bridcre toward 
the west and the yEgean, on account of the south and southeast 
winds. They left an opening as a passage through between the 
penteconters, in three places, that any one who wished mio-ht 
be able to sail into the Pontus in light vessels, and from the 
Pontus outward. Having done this, they stretched the cables from 
the shore, twisting them with wooden capstans, not as before 
using the two kinds separately, but assigning to each two of white 
flax and four of papyrus. The thickness and quality was the 
same, but those of flax were stronger in proportion, every cubit 
weighing a full talent. When the passage was bridged over, they 
sawed up trunks of trees, equal in length to the width of the 
bridge, and laid them upon the extended cables in regular order, 
fastening them securely together. They put brush-wood on 
the top, and earth over the whole ; and having pressed down the 
earth, they drew a fence on each side, that the beasts of 
burden and horses might not be frightened by looking down 
upon the sea. 

At last the works at the bridges and Mount Athos were com- 
pleted, as well as the mounds at the mouths of the canal which had 
been made on account of the tide in order that the mouths of the 
trench might not be choked up. News was brought that all was 
ready, and the army, fresh from their winter at Sardis, set out fully 



270 HERODOTUS. 

prepared at the beginning of the spring toward Abydos. But just 
as they were on the point of starting, the sun quit his seat in the 
heavens and disappeared, though there were no clouds, and the 
air was perfectly serene, and night ensued in the place of day. 
This occasioned Xerxes much uneasiness ; but the magi said 
" The deity foreshows to the Greeks the extinction of their cities ; 
the sun is the portender of the future to the Greeks, and the moon 
to the Persians." Xerxes, at this, was much delighted, and set 
out upon his march. As he was leading his army away, Pythius 
the Lydian, terrified by the prodigy in the heavens, and em- 
boldened by the gifts of Xerxes, went to the king and spoke thus : 
•' Sire, would you indulge me by granting a boon I wish to obtain, 
which is easy for you to grant, and of much importance to me." 
Xerxes, expecting that he would wish for anything rather than 
what he did ask, said that he would grant his request, and bade 
him declare what he wanted. " Sire," said he, " I have five sons ; 
and it happens that they are all attending you in the expedition 
against Greece. But pity me, O king, who am advanced in years, 
and release one of my sons from the service, that he may take 
care of me and my property. Take the other four with you, ac- 
complish your designs, and return home." Xerxes was highly in- 
censed, and answered : " Base man ! hast thou dared, when I am 
marching in person against Greece, and taking with me my 
children, and brothers, and kinsmen, and friends to make mention 
of thy son ? thou who art my slave, and who wert bound in duty to 
follow me with all thy family, even with thy wife. But I promise 
to grant your request; I will leave your dearest son." When he 
had given this answer, he immediately commanded to find out the 
eldest of the sons of Pythius, and to cut his body into two halves, 
and to stand one on the right of the road, and the other on the 
left, while the army should pass between them. 

This done the army passed between. The baggage-bearers 
and beasts of burden first led the way ; after them came a host of 
all nations. When more than one half of the army had passed, an 
interval was left that they might not mix with the king's troops. 



DEA TH OF DARI US. 271 

Before him a thousand horsemen led the van, chosen from among 
all the Persians ; and next to them a thousand spearmen, these 
also chosen from among all, carrying their lances turned downwards 
to the earth. After these, ten immense sacred horses, gorgeously- 
caparisoned, called Nissean, from the plain in the Medic territory, 
which produces them ; then came the sacred chariot of Jupiter, 
drawn by eight white horses, followed by a charioteer on foot, 
holding the reins ; for no mortal ever ascends this seat. Behind 
this came Xerxes himself on a chariot drawn by Nisaean horses ; 
and a charioteer walked at his side, whose name was Patiramphes. 
In this manner Xerxes marched out of Sardis, and whenever he 
thought right, he used to pass from the chariot to a covered car- 
riage. Behind him marched a thousand spearmen, the bravest and 
noblest of the Persians, carrying their spears in the usual manner; 
and after them another body of a thousand horse, chosen from 
among the Persians ; then ten thousand chosen Persian infantry. 
Of these, one thousand had golden pomegranates on their spears 
instead of ferrules, and they enclosed the others all round ; the nine 
thousand within had silver pomegranates. Those also that carried 
their spears turned to the earth had golden pomegranates, and 
those that followed nearest to Xerxes had golden apples. Behind 
the ten thousand foot were placed ten thousand Persian cavalry ; 
and after the cavalry was left an interval of two stades ; then the 
rest of the throng followed promiscuously. 

Once when the army halted during the night under Mount Ida, 
thunder and lightning fell upon them, and destroyed a considerable 
number of the troops on the spot. At the Scamander, the first river 
on their march from Sardis, the stream failed and did not afford 
sufficient drink for the army and beasts of burden. Here Xerxes 
went up to the Pergamus or citadel of Priam, and sacrificed a 
thousand oxen to the Ilian Minerva, and the magi poured out 
libations in honor of the heroes of the Trojan War. At Abydos, 
Xerxes wished to behold the whole army. And there had been 
previously erected on a hill at this place, for his use, a lofty 
throne of white marble ; the people of Abydos had made it> 



272 HERODOTUS. 

in obedience to an order of the king. Seated there, he beheld 
both the land army and the fleet ; he desired also to see a contest 
take place between the ships, in which the Sidonian Phcenicians 
were victorious. Exceedingly gratified he was, both with the 
contest and the army. But while he was viewing the whole 
Hellespont covered by the ships, and all the shores and the plains 
of Abydos full of men, he suddenly burst into tears. Artabanus, 
his paternal uncle, observed him, and exclaimed : " O king, a mo- 
ment ago you pronounced yourself happy, but now you weep." 
" Alas," he answered : " Commiseration seized me, when I 
considered how brief all human life is, since of these, numerous as 
they are, not one will be alive in a hundred years ! " 

That day they made preparations for the passage over ; and on 
the following they waited for the sun, as they wished to see 
it rising, in the mean time burning all sorts of perfumes on the 
bridges, and strewing the road with myrtle branches. When the 
sun rose, Xerxes poured a libation into the sea out of a golden 
cup, and offered up a prayer to the sun, that no such accident 
might befall him as would prevent him from subduing Europe, un- 
til he had reached its utmost limits. After the prayer, he threw 
the cup into the Hellespont, and a golden bowl, and a Persian 
sword, which they call acinace. But I cannot determine with 
certainty, whether he dropped these things into the sea as an offer- 
ing to the sun, or whether he repented of having scourged 
the Hellespont, and presented these gifts to the sea as a compen- 
sation. These ceremonies finished, the infantry and all the 
cavalry crossed over by that bridge which was toward the Pontus ; 
and the beasts of burden and the attendants by that toward the 
^gean. I have heard that Xerxes crossed over last of all. In 
seven days and seven nights without a halt his army crossed. 
On this occasion it is related, that when Xerxes had crossed over 
the Hellespont, a certain Hellespontine said : " O Jupiter, why, 
assuming the form of a Persian, and taking the name of Xerxes, 
do you wish to subvert Greece, bringing all mankind with you ? 
since without them it was in your power to do this." 





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2/4 HERODOTUS. 

Doriscus is a shore and extensive plain of Thrace. Through it 
flows a large river, the Hebrus. A royal fort had been built, 
and a Persian garrison had been established in it by Darius, from 
the time that he marched against the Scythians. At Doriscus 
Xerxes numbered his army. The whole land forces were found to 
be seventeen hundred thousand. They were computed in this 
manner : having drawn together ten thousand men in one place, 
and crowded them as close together as it was possible, they 
traced a circle on the outside ; removed the ten thousand, threw 
up a stone fence on the circle, a yard high, and made others 
enter within the enclosed space, until they had in this manner 
computed all. 

The Persians were equipped as follows : On their heads 
they wore loose coverings, called tiaras ; on the body various- 
colored sleeved breastplates, with iron scales like those of fisli ; and 
on their legs, loose trousers ; instead of shields they had bucklers 
made of osiers ; and under them their quivers were hung. They 
had short spears, long bows, and arrows made of cane, besides 
daggers suspended from the girdle on the right thigh. They had 
for their general, Otanes, father of Amestris, wife of Xerxes. 
They were formerly called Cephenes by the Grecians, but by 
themselves and neighbors, Artseans. But when Perseus, son of 
Danae and Jupiter, came to Cepheus, son of Belus, and married 
his daughter Andromeda, he had a son to whom he p^ave the name 
of Perses ; and from him they derived their appellation. The 
Medes marched equipped in the same manner as the Persians ; 
for the above is a Medic and not a Persian costume. The Medes 
had for their general, Tigranes, of the family of the Achaemenidae : 
they were formerly called Arians by all nations ; but when Medea 
of Colchis came from Athens to these Arians, they also changed 
their names. The Assyrians who served in the army had helmets 
of bronze, twisted in a barbarous fashion, not easy to describe ; and 
shields and spears, with daggers similar to those of the Egyptians, 
besides wooden clubs knotted with iron, and linen cuirasses. By 
the Greeks they were called Syrians, but by the barbarians. 



DEA TH OF DARI US. 2^S 

Assyrians. Among them were the Chaldeans ; and Otaspes, son 
of Artachseus commanded them. The Bactrians had turbans 
on their heads, very much hke those of the Medes, and bows made 
of cane pecuhar to their country, and short spears. The Sacse, 
who are Scythians, had on their heads caps, which came to a 
point and stood erect : they also wore loose trousers, and carried 
bows peculiar to their country, and daggers, and also battle-axes, 
called sagares. The Indians, clad with garments made of cotton, 
had bows of cane, and arrows of cane tipped with iron. 

The Arabians wore cloaks fastened by a girdle ; and carried on 
their right sides long bows which bent backward. The Ethiopians 
were clothed in panthers' and lions' skins, and carried long bows, 
not less than four cubits in length, made from branches of the 
palm-tree ; and on them they placed short arrows made of cane, 
instead of iron, tipped with a stone, which was made sharp, and of 
the sort on which they engrave seals. Besides, they had javelins, 
and at the tip was an antelope's horn, made sharp, like a lance ; 
they had also knotted clubs. When they were going to battle, 
they smeared one half of their body with chalk, and the other half 
with red ochre. The Arabians and Ethiopians who dwell above 
Egypt were commanded by Arsames, son of Darius and Artystone, 
daughter of Cyrus, whom Darius loved more than all his wives, 
and whose image he had made of beaten gold. The Ethiopians 
from the sun-rise (for two kinds served in the expedition) were 
marshalled with the Indians, and did not at all differ from the others 
in appearance, except in their language and their hair. For the 
eastern Ethiopians are straight-haired ; but those of Libya have 
hair more curly than that of any other people. These Ethiopians 
from Asia were accoutred almost the same as the Indians ; but 
they wore on their heads skins of horses' heads, as masks, stripped 
off with the ears and mane ; and the mane served instead of a 
crest, and the horses' ears were fixed erect ; and as defensive 
armor they used the skins of cranes instead of shields. The Lib- 
yans marched, clad in leathern garments, and made use of javelins 
hardened by fire. They had for their general. Massages, son of 



2/6 HERODOTUS. 

Oarizus. The Paphlagonians joined the expedition, wearing on 
their heads plated helmets, and carried small shields, and not large 
spears, besides javelins and daggers : and on their feet they wore 
boots, peculiar to their country, reaching up to the middle of the 
leg. The Thracians wore fox-skins on their heads, and tunics 
around their bodies, and over them they were clothed with various- 
colored cloaks, and on their feet and legs they had buskins of fawn- 
skin, and carried javelins, light bucklers, and small daggers. These 
people having crossed over into Asia, were called Bithynians; but 
formerly, as they themselves say, were called Strymonians, as they 
dwelt on the river Strymon. 

These, with very many others, were the nations that marched 
on the continent and composed the infantry. Over these and the 
whole infantry was appointed as general, Mardonius, son of Go- 
bryas. But of the ten thousand chosen Persians, Hydarnes was 
general. These Persians were called Immortal, for the following 
reason : If any one of them made a deficiency in the number, com- 
pelled either by death or disease, another was ready chosen to 
supply his place ; so that they were never either more or less than 
ten thousand. The Persians displayed the greatest splendor of 
all, and were also the bravest ; their equipment was such as has 
been described ; but besides this, they were conspicuous from 
having a great profusion of gold. They also brought with them 
covered chariots and a numerous and well-equipped train of attend- 
ants. Camels and other beasts of burden conveyed their provi- 
sions, apart from that of the rest of the soldiers. 

All these nations have cavalry ; they did not, however, all fur- 
nish horse, but only the following. First, the Persians, equipped 
in the same manner as their infantry, except that on their heads 
some of them wore bronze and wrouorht-steel ornaments. There 
is a certain nomadic race, called Sagartians, of Persian extraction 
and language, who wear a dress fashioned between the Persian 
and the Pactyan fashion ; they furnished eight thousand horse, but 
they are not accustomed to carry arms either of bronze or iron, ex- 
cept daggers : they use lassos made of twisted thongs. The 



DEATH OF DARIUS. 



277 



mode of fighting of these men is as follows : When they eno-ao-e 
with the enemy they throw out the ropes, which have nooses at 
the end, and whatever any one catches, whether horse or man, he 
drags toward himself; and they that are entangled in the coils are 




_i^a^i„z=rr^ 



BRIDGE OVER THE GORTYNIUS. 



put to death. The Arabians had the same dress as their infantry, 
but all rode camels not inferior to horses in speed. The number 
of the horse amounted to eighty thousand, besides the camels and 
chariots. All the rest of the cavalry were marshalled in troops ; 



278 HERODOTUS. 

but the Arabians were stationed in the rear, as horses cannot en- 
dure camels. Armamithres and Tithseus, sons of Datis, were gen- 
erals of the cavalry. Their third colleague in command, Pharnuches, 
had been left at Sardis sick. For as they were setting out from 
Sardis he met with a sad accident. When he was mounted, a dog 
ran under the legs of his horse, and the horse, frightened, reared 
and threw Pharnuches, who vomited blood, and the disease turned 
to a consumption. With respect to the horse, his servants imme- 
diately led him to the place where he had thrown his master, and 
cut off his legs at the knees. 

The number of the triremes amounted to twelve hundred and 
seven. 

Persians, Medes, and Sacse served as marines on board all the 
ships. Of these the Phoenicians furnished the best sailing ships, 
and of the Phoenicians the Sidonians. The admirals of the navy 
were : Ariabignes, son of Darius ; Prexaspes, son of Aspathines ; 
Meeabazus son of Meofabates ; and Achaemenes, son of Darius. 
Of the other captains I make no mention, as I deem it unneces- 
sary, except of Artemisia, whom I most admire, as having, though 
a woman, joined this expedition against Greece. Her husband 
was dead, but, holding the sovereignty while her son was under 
age, she joined the expedition from a feeling of courage and 
manly spirit, though there was no necessity for her doing so. Her 
name was Artemisia, and she was the daughter of Lygdamis, by 
birth of Halicarnassus on her father's side, and on her mother's a 
Cretan. She commanded the Halicarnassians, the Coans, the 
Nisyrians, and the Calyndians, having contributed five ships : and 
of the whole fleet, next to the Sidonians, she furnished the most 
renowned ships, and of all the allies, gave the best advice to the 
kine- The cities which I have mentioned as beino^ under her 
command, I pronounce to be all of Doric origin ; the Halicarnas- 
sians being Trcezenians, and the rest Epidaurians. 

When Xerxes had numbered his forces, and the army was 
drawn up he desired to pass through and inspect them in person. 
Accordingly he drove through in a chariot, by each separate 



DEATH OF DARIUS. 279 

nation, made inquiries, and his secretaries wrote down the 
answers ; until he had gone from one extremity to the other, both 
of the horse and foot. When he had finished this, and the ships 
had been launched into the sea, Xerxes, in a Sidonian ship, under 
a gilded canopy, sailed by the prows of the ships, asking ques- 
tions of each, as he had done with the land-forces, and having the 
answers written down. 

When Xerxes arrived at Therma, he ordered his army to halt. 
And seeing from Therma the Thessalonian mountains, Olympus 
and Ossa, which are of vast size, and having learnt that there was a 
narrow pass between them, through which the river Peneus runs, and 
hearing that at that spot there was a road leading to Thessaly, very 
much wished to sail and see the mouth of the Peneus. When 
Xerxes arrived, and beheld its mouth, he was struck with great 
astonishment. For several rivers, five of them greatly noted, the 
Peneus, the Apidanus, the Onochonus, the Enipeus, and the Pa'mi- 
sus, meeting together in this plain from the mountains that enclose 
Thessaly, discharge themselves into the sea through one channel, 
and that a narrow one ; but as soon as they have mingled together, 
from that spot the names of the other rivers merge in that of the 
Peneus.' The Thessalians say, that Neptune made the pass 
through which the Peneus flows ; and their story is probable. For 
whoever thinks that Neptune shakes the earth, and that rents oc- 
casioned by earthquakes are the works of this god, on seeing this, 
would say that Neptune formed it. For it appears evident to me, 
that the separation of these mountains is the effect of an earth- 
quake. 

' Literally, ' ' the river Peneus gaining the victory as to the name, causes the others to be 
nameless." 



CHAPTER II. 

BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE. 

When the Greeks arrived at the Isthmus they consulted in 
what way and in what places they should prosecute the war. The 
opinion which prevailed was that they should defend the pass at 
Thermopylae ; for it appeared to be narrower than that into Thes- 
saly, and at the same time nearer to their own territories. On 
the western side of Thermopylae is an inaccessible and precipitous 
mountain, stretching to Mount CEta ; and on the eastern side of 
the way is the sea and a morass. In this passage there are hot 
baths, which the inhabitants call Chytri, and above these is an altar 
to Hercules. A wall had been built in this pass, and formerly 
there were crates in it. The Phocians built it through fear, when 
the Thessalians came from Thesprotia to settle in the yEiolian ter- 
ritory which they now possess, apprehending that the Thessalians 
would attempt to subdue them ; at the same time they diverted 
the hot water into the entrance, that the place might be broken 
into clefts ; having recourse to every contrivance to prevent the 
Thessalians from making inroads into their country. Now this 
old wall had been built a long time, and the greater part of it had 
already fallen through age ; but they determined to rebuild it, and 
in that place to repel the barbarian from Greece. Very near this 
road there is a village called Alpeni, from which they expected to 
obtain provisions. 

The naval forces of Xerxes, setting out iiom the city of Therma, 
advanced with ten of the fastest sailing ships straight to Scyathus, 
where were three Greek ships keeping a look-out, a Troezenian 
an ^ginetan, and an Athenian. These, seeing the ships of 
the barbarians at a distance, betook themselves to flight. The 



BATTLE OF TBERMOPYL^. 



281 



Troezenian ship, which Praxinus commanded, the barbarians pur- 
sued and soon captured ; and then, having led the handsomest of 
the marines to the prow of the ship, they slew him, deeming it a 
good omen that the first Greek they had taken was also very 
handsome. The name of the man that was slain was Leon, and 
perhaps he in some measure reaped the fruits of his name. The 
/Eginetan ship, which Asonides commanded, gave them some 
trouble, Pytheas, son of Ischenous, being a marine on board, a 
man who on this day displayed the most consummate valor ; who, 




CYCLOPEAN WALLS AT CEPHALLOMA. 



when the ship was taken, continued fighting until he was almost 
cut to pieces. But when they found that he was not dead, but 
still breathed, the Persians who served on board the ships were 
very anxious to save him alive, on account of his valor, healing 
his wounds with myrrh, and binding them with bandages of flaxen 
cloth. And when they returned to their own camp, they showed 
him with admiration to the whole army, and treated him well ; but 
the others, whom they took in this ship, they treated as slaves. 



262 HERODOTUS. 

Thus, two of the ships were taken ; but the third, which Phormus. 
an Athenian, commanded, in its flight ran ashore at the mouth of 
the Peneus ; and the barbarians got possession of the ship, but not 
of the men : for as soon as the Athenians had run the ship 
aground, they leaped out, and, proceeding through Thessaly, 
reached Athens. The Greeks who were stationed at Artemisium 
were informed of this event by signal-fires from Scyathus. 

As far as Thermopylae, the army of Xerxes had suffered no loss, 
and the numbers were at that time, as I find by calculation of those 
in ships from Asia, a total of five hundred and seventeen thousand 
six hundred and ten. Of infantry there were seventeen hundred 
thousand, and of cavalry eighty thousand ; to these I add the 
Arabians who rode camels, and the Libyans who drove chariots, 
reckoning the number of twenty thousand men. Accordingly, the 
numbers on board the ships and on the land added together, make 
up two millions three hundred and seventeen thousand six hundred 
and ten, exclusive of the servants that followed, and the provision 
ships, and the men that were on board them. But the force brought 
from Europe must still be added to this whole number, of which I 
suppose that there were three hundred thousand men. So that 
these myriads added to those from Asia, make a total of two mil- 
lions six hundred and forty one thousand six hundred and ten fighting 
men. I think that the servants who followed them, towther with 
those on board the provision ships and other vessels that sailed 
with the fleet, were not fewer than the fighting men, probably more 
numerous ; but supposing them to be equal in number with the 
fighting men, Xerxes, son of Darius, led five millions two hundred 
and eighty-three thousand two hundred and twenty men to Ther- 
mopylae. This, then, was the number of the whole force of Xerxes. 
But the number of women who made bread, wives of officers, and 
servants, no one could mention with accuracy ; nor of draught- 
cattle and other beasts of burden ; nor of Indian dogs that followed. 
I am not astonished that the streams of some rivers failed ; rather 
is it a wonder to me how the provisions held out for so many myr- 
iads. For I find by calculation, if each man had a choenix of w^heat 



JiiliLL- 




284 HERODOTUS. 

daily, and no more, one hundred and ten thousand three hundred 
and forty medimni must have been consumed every day ; and I 
have not reckoned the food for the women, beasts of burden, and 
dogs. But, of so many myriads of men, not one of them, for beauty 
and stature, was more entitled than Xerxes himself to possess this 
power. 

The Greeks who awaited the Persian at Thermopylae were : of 
Spartans three hundred heavy-armed men ; of Tegeans and Man- 
tineans one thousand, half of each ; from Orchomenus in Arcadia 
one hundred and twenty ; and from the rest of Arcadia one thou- 
sand ; froni' Corinth four hundred ; from Phlius two hundred men, 
and from Mycenae eighty. These came from Peloponnesus. From 
Bceotia, of Thespians seven hundred, and of Thebans four hun- 
dred. In addition to these, the Opuntian Locrians, being invited, 
came with all their forces, and a thousand Phocians. These na- 
tions had separate generals for their several cities ; but the one 
most admired, and who commanded the whole army, was a Lace- 
daemonian, Leonidas, son of Anaxandrides, and a descendant of 
Hercules, who had unexpectedly succeeded to the throne of Sparta. 
For as he had two elder brothers, Cleomenes and Dorieus, he was 
far from any thought of the kingdom. However, Cleomenes and 
Dorieus both died, and the kingdom thus devolved upon LeOnidas. 
He had chosen the three hundred men allowed by law, and 
marched to Thermopylae. 

When the Persian came near the pass, the Greeks, alarmed, 
consulted about a retreat, and it seemed best to the other Pelopon- 
nesians to retire to Peloponnesus, and guard the Isthmus ; but 
Leonidas, perceiving the Phocians and Locrians very indignant at 
this proposition, determined to stay there, and to despatch mes- 
sengers to the cities, desirinof them to come to their assistance, as 
being too few to repel the army of the Medes. Meantime Xerxes 
sent a scout on horseback, to see how many they were, and what 
they were doing. For while he was still in Thessaly, he had heard 
that a small army had been assembled at that spot, whose leader 
was Leonidas, of the race of Hercules. When the horseman rode 



BATTLE OF THERMOPYL^. 285 

up to the camp, he reconnoitred, and saw not indeed the whole 
camp, for it was not possible that they should be seen who were 
posted within the wall, but he had a clear view of those on the 
outside, whose arms were piled in front of the wall. At this some 
of the Lacedaemonians were performing gymnastic exercises, and 
others combing their hair. On beholding this he was astonished, 
but having ascertained their number, he rode back at his leisure, 
for no one pursued him, and he met with general contempt. On 
his return he gave an account to Xerxes of all that he had seen, 
who could not comprehend the truth, that the Greeks were pre- 
paring to be slain and to slay to the utmost of their power. 

Xerxes let five days pass, constandy expecting that they would 
betake themselves to flight. But on the fifth day, as they had not 
retreated, but appeared to him to stay through arrogance and 
rashness, in rage he sent the Medes and Cissians against them, 
with orders to take them alive, and bring them into his presence. 
When the Medes bore down impetuously upon the Greeks, many 
of them fell; others followed to the charge, and were not repulsed, 
though they suffered greatly. But they made it evident to every 
one, and not least of all to the king himself, that they were indeed 
many men, but few soldiers. The engagement lasted through the 
day. The Medes, roughly handled, retired ; and the Persians 
whom the king called " Immortal," and whom Hydarnes com- 
manded, took their place and advanced to the attack, thinking 
that they indeed should easily settle the business. But they suc- 
ceeded no better than the Medic troops, but just the same, as they 
fought in a narrow space, and used shorter spears than the 
Greeks, and were unable to avail themselves of their numbers. 
The Lacedaemonians fought memorably, showing that they knew 
how to fight with men who knew not, and whenever they turned 
their backs, they retreated in close order ; but the barbarians 
seeing them retreat, followed with a shout and clamor ; then they, 
being overtaken, wheeled round so as to front the barbarians and 
overthrew an inconceivable number of the Persians ; and then 
some few of the Spartans themselves fell. So that when the Per- 



2 86 HERODOTUS, 

sians were unable to gain any thing in their attempt on the pass, 
by attacking in troops and in every possible manner, they retired. 
It is said that during these onsets of the battle, the king, who wit- 
nessed them, thrice sprang from his throne, being alarmed for his 
army. On the following day the barbarians fought with no better 
success ; for considering that the Greeks were few in number, and 
expecting that they were covered with wounds, and would not be 
able to raise their heads against them any more, they renewed the 
contest. But the Greeks were marshalled in companies and 
according to their several nations, and each fought in turn, except 
the Phocians, who were stationed at the mountain to "-uard the 
pathway. Again the Persians failed and retired. 

While the king was in doubt what course to take, Ephialtes, 
son of Eurydemus, a Malian, obtained an audience of him, expect- 
ing that he should receive a great reward from the king, and 
informed him of the path which leads over the mountain to Ther- 
mopylee ; and by that means caused the destruction of those 
Greeks who were stationed there. Afterwards, fearing the Lace- 
daemonians, he fled to Thessaly, and a price was set on his head 
by the Pylagori, when the Amphictyons were assembled at Pylse. 
But some time after, he went down to Anticyra, and was killed by 
Athenades, a Trachinian. This Athenades killed kim for another 
reason, which I shall mention in a subsequent part of my history ;' 
he was however rewarded none the less by the Lacedaemonians. 
Xerxes, exceedingly delighted with what Ephialtes promised to 
perform, immediately despatched Hydarnes with his troops from 
the camp about the hour of lamp-lighting. 

All nicrht lonof the Persians marched, and at dawn reached the 
summit of the mountain. Here, as I have already mentioned, a 
thousand heavy-armed Phocians kept guard, to defend their own 
country, and to secure the pathway. The whole mountain was 
covered with oaks ; there was a perfect calm, and as a consider- 
able rustling took place from the leaves strewn under foot, the 
Phocians sprang up and put on their arms, just as the barbarians 

' The promised account is no where given in any extant writings of the historian. 



BATTLE OF THERMOPYL^. 



287 



made their appearance. Hit by many thick-falling arrows, the 
Phocians fled to the summit of the mountain, prepared to perish. 
But the Persians took no further notice of the Phocians, but 
marched down the mountain with all speed. 

To the Greeks at Thermopylse, the augur Megistias, having 
inspected the sacrifices, first made known the death that would 




BRIDGE AT CORFU. 



befall them in the morning ; certain deserters afterwards came and 
brought intelligence of the circuit the Persians were taking while 
it was yet night ; and, thirdly, the scouts running down from the 
heights, as soon as day dawned, brought the same intelligence. 
It had been announced to the Spartans, by the oracle of Apollo„ 



288 HERODOTUS. 

when they went to consult concerning this war, " that either 
Lacedaemon must be overthrown by the barbarians, or their king 
perish." This answer the prophetess gave in hexameter verses to 
this effect : 

" Hear me, ye men of spacious LacedDemon ! 
Either your glorious town must be destroyed, 
By the fell hand of warriors sprung from Perseus, 
Or else the confines of fair Lacedaemon 
Must mourn a king of Heracleidan race, 
For all the strength of lions or of bulls 
Is nought to him who has the strength of Zeus ; 
And never shall that monarch be restrained 
Until he takes your city or your king." 

Xerxes poured out hbations at sun-rise, waited a short time, 
and began his attack about the time of full market, as he had 
been instructed by Ephialtes. The Greeks with Leonidas, march- 
ing out as if for certain death, now advanced much farther than 
before into the wide part of the defile. For the fortification of the 
wall had protected them, on the preceding day, in the narrow part. 
But now engaging outside the narrows, great numbers of the 
barbarians fell. The officers of the companies from behind, with 
scourges, flogged every man, constantly urging them forward, so 
that many of them falling into the sea, perished, and many more 
were trampled alive under foot by one another ; and no regard 
was paid to any that perished. The Greeks, knowing that death 
awaited them at the hands of those who were eoine round 
the mountain, were desperate, and regardless of their own lives, 
displayed the utmost possible valor against the barbarians. Al- 
ready were most of their javelins broken, and they had begun to 
despatch the Persians with their swords. In this part of the strug- 
gle fell Leonidas, fighting valiantly, and with him other eminent 
Spartans, whose names, seeing they were deserving men, I have 
ascertained ; indeed I have ascertained the names of the whole 
three hundred. On the side of the Persians, also, many other 
eminent men fell on this occasion, amongst them two sons of 
Darius, Abrocomes and Hyperanthes, fighting for the body of 
Leonidas ; and there was a violent struijcrle between the Persians 



290 HERODOTUS. 

and Lacedaemonians, until at last the Greeks rescued it by their 
valor, and four times repulsed the enemy. Thus the contest con- 
tinued until the Greeks heard that those with Ephialtes were 
approaching. Then they retreated to the narrow part of the way, 
and, passing beyond the wall, came and took up their position on 
the rising ground, all in a compact body, with the exception of the 
Thebans : the risinof o^round is at the entrance where the stone 
lion now stands to the memory of Leonidas. On this spot they 
defended themselves, first with their swords, then with their hands 
and teeth, until the barbarians overwhelmed them with missiles in 
front, and from above, and on every side. 

Dieneces, a Spartan, is said to have been the bravest man. 
They relate that before the engagement with the Medes, having 
heard a Trachinian say, that when the barbarians let fly their 
arrows, they would obscure the sun by the multitude of their 
shafts, so great were their numbers, he replied, not at all alarmed : 
" That 's good ; we shall have the pleasure, then, of fighting in 
the shade." In honor of the slain, who were buried on the spot 
where they fell, and of those who died before, these inscriptions 
have been engraved upon stones above them ; the first : 

" From Peloponnesus came four thousand men ; 

And on this spot fought with three hundred myriads." 

The second was in honor of the three hundred Spartans : 

" Go, stranger ! tell the Lacedaemonians, here 
We lie, obedient to their stern commands ! " 

An engraved monument was also erected to Megistias the 
augur, by his friend Simonides, and was as follows : 

" The monument of famed Megistias, — 

Slain by the Medes what time they passed the Sperchius ; 
A seer, who though he krew impending fate. 
Would not desert the gallant chiefs of Sparta." 

Two of these three hundred, Eurytus and Aristodemus, had 
been dismissed from the camp by Leonidas, and were lying 
at Alpeni desperately afflicted with a disease of the eyes. But 
when Eurytus heard of the circuit made by the Persians, he called 



BATTLE OF THERMOPYL^. 291 

for his arms and ordered his helot to lead him to the combatants ; 
and, while the slave in terror ran away, his brave half-blind master 
rushed into the midst of the throng and perished ; but Aristodemus, 
failing in courage, was left behind. Now if it had happened that 
Aristodemus had returned sick to Sparta, or if both had gone home 
together, in my opinion the Spartans would not have shown 
any anger against them. But since one of them perished, and 
the other, who had only the same excuse, refused to die, they must 
needs get exceedingly angry with Aristodemus. On his return to 
Lacedsemon he was met with insults and infamy. Not one of the 
Spartans would either give him fire or converse with him ; and he 
was jeered and hooted at by the boys who called him " Aristodemus 
the coward." However, in the battle of Platsea he removed all the 
disgrace that attached to him, for he earned the title of the bravest 
of the Spartans, and recklessly lost his life. Xerxes after the 
massacre passed through among the dead ; and having heard that 
Leonidas was king and general of the Lacedaemonians, he com- 
manded them to cut off his head, and fix it upon a pole. It is clear 
to me from many other proofs, and not least of all from this, 
that king Xerxes was more highly incensed against Leonidas 
during his life, than against any other man ; for otherwise he 
w^ould never have violated the respect due to his dead body ; 
since the Persians, most of all men with whom I am acquainted, 
are wont to honor men who are brave in war. 



BOOK VIIL URANIA. 
CHAPTER I. 

THE INVASION OF ATTICA AND THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS. 

The Greek fleet from Artemisium put in at Salamis at the re- 
quest of the Athenians, who wished to remove their children and 
wives out of Attica, and consult what measures were to be taken. 
The Athenians caused proclamation to be made, " that every one 
should save his children and family by the best means he could." 
Thereupon the greatest part sent away their families to Troezen, 
some to yEgina, and others to Salamis. They used all diligence to 
remove them to a place of safety, from a desire to obey the oracle, 
but more particularly for the following reason. The Athenians say 
that a large serpent used to live in the temple as a guard to the 
Acropolis ; they used to do it honor by placing before it its 
monthly food, consisting of a honey-cake : this honey-cake in 
former time had always been consumed, but now it remained un- 
touched. When the priestess made this known, the Athenians, 
with more readiness, abandoned the city, since even the goddess 
had forsaken the Acropolis. As soon as every thing had been de- 
posited in a place of safety, they sailed to the encampment. Many 
more ships were assembled together than had fought at Artemi- 
sium, and from a greater number of cities. The same admiral 
commanded them as at Artemisium, Eurybiades, son of Eury- 
clides, a Spartan, though he was not of the royal family : The 
Athenians, however, furnished by far the most and the best sailing 
ships. The whole number of ships besides the penteconters, 
amounted to three hundred and seventy-eight. 



INVASION OF ATTICA. 



293 



When the leaders from the various cities met together at Sala- 
mis, they held a council, in which Eurybiades proposed that any 
one who chose should deliver his opinion, where he thought it 
would be most advantageous to come to an engagement by sea, 
of all the places of which they were still in possession : for Attica 
was already given up. Most of the opinions of those who spoke 
coincided, that they should sail to the Isthmus, and fight before 
Peloponnesus ; alleging this reason, that if they should be con- 
quered by sea while they were at Salamis, they would be besieged 
in the island, where no succor could reach them ; but if at the 
Isthmus, they might escape to their own cities. 




ANCIENT GREEK WALLS RESTORED. 



While the commanders from Peloponnesus were debating these 
matters, an Athenian arrived with intelligence, that the barbarian 
had entered Attica, and was devastating the whole of it by fire. 
The army with Xerxes were thus three months en route from the 
passage over the Hellespont, till they arrived at Athens. They 
took the city, deserted of inhabitants, but found a few of the Athen- 
ians in the temple, with the treasurers of the temple and some 
poor people ; who, having fortified the Acropolis with planks 
and stakes, tried to keep off the invaders : they had not 
withdrawn to Salamis, partly through want of means, and 



294 HERODOTUS. 

moreover they thought they had found out the meaning 
of the oracle which the Pythian deHvered to them, that the 
wooden wall " should be impregnable " ; imagining, that this 
was the refuge according to the oracle, and not the ships. The 
Persians, posting themselves on the hill opposite the Acropolis, 
which the Athenians call the Areopagus, wrapped tow round their 
arrows, and setting fire to it, shot them at the fence. But those 
Athenians who were besieged, still defended themselves, though 
driven to the last extremity, and the fence had failed them ; nor, 
when the Pisistratidse proposed them, would they listen to terms of 
capitulation ; but still defending themselves, they contrived other 
means of defence, and when the barbarians approached the gates, 
they hurled down large round stones ; so that Xerxes was for a 
long time kept in perplexity, not being able to capture them. At 
length, in the midst of these difficulties, an entrance was discovered 
by the barbarians ; for it was necessary, according to the oracle, 
that all Attica, on the continent, should be subdued by the Per- 
sians. In front of the Acropolis, but behind the gates and where 
no one kept guard, nor would ever have expected that any man 
would ascend, there some of them ascended near the temple of 
Cecrops' daughter Aglauros. When the Athenians saw that the 
enemy were in the Acropolis, some threw themselves down from 
the wall and perished, and others took refuge in the recess of the 
temple. But the Persians who had ascended first turned to the 
gates, opened them, and put the suppliants to death : and when all 
were thrown prostrate, they pillaged the temple and set fire to the 
whole Acropolis. 

The Greeks at Salamis, when intelligence was brought them 
how matters stood in Athens, were thrown into such consternation, 
that some of the generals would not wait until the subject before 
them was decided on, but rushed to their ships and hoisted sail, as 
about to hurry away ; by such of them as remained it was deter- 
mined to come to an engagement before the Isthmus. Night came 
on, and they, being dismissed from the council, went on board their 
ships. Thereupon Mnesiphilus, an Athenian, inquired of Themis- 



INVASION OF ATTICA. 295 

tocles, on his return to his ship, what had been determined on by 
them. And being informed by him that it was resolved to conduct 
the ships to the Isthmus, and to come to an engagement before the 
Peloponnesus, he said, " If they remove the ships from Salamis, 
you will no longer fight for any country ; for they will each betake 
themselves to their cities ; and neither will Eurybiades nor any one 
else be able to detain them, so that the fleet should not be dis- 
persed ; and Greece will perish through want of counsel. But, if 
there is any possible contrivance, go and endeavor to annul the de- 
cree, if by any means you can induce Eurybiades to alter his 
determination, so as to remain here." The suggestion pleased 
Themistocles exceedingly ; and without answer he went to the ship 
of Eurybiades, and said that he wished to confer with him on pub- 
lic business. He desired him to come on board his ship, and say 
what he wished. Thereupon Themistocles, seating himself by him, 
repeated all that he had heard from Mnesiphilus, making it his own, 
and adding much more, until he prevailed on him, by entreaty, to 
leave his ship, and assemble the commanders in council. The up- 
shot of the matter was that Themistocles persuaded the generals in 
council to remain and fight at Salamis. Day came, and at sunrise 
an earthquake took place on land and at sea. They determined to 
pray to the gods, and to invoke the ^acidae as allies. For having 
prayed to all the gods, they forthwith, from Salamis, invoked 
Ajax and Telamon ; and sent a ship to yEgina for yE^acus, and the 
^E^acidae. In the mean time, all the admirals and captains of 
Xerxes' fleet advised engaging in a sea-fight, except Artemisia, 
who spoke as follows : " Tell the king from me, Mardonius, that I 
say this. It is right that I, sire, who proved myself by no means 
a coward in the sea-fight off" Eubcea, and performed achievements 
not inferior to others, should declare my real opinion, and state 
what I think best for your interest. Therefore I say this, abstain 
from using your ships, nor risk a sea-fight ; for these men are as 
much superior to your men by sea, as men are to women. And 
why must you run a risk by a naval engagement ? Have you not 
possession of Athens, for the sake of which you undertook this ex- 



296 HERODOTUS. 

pedition, and have you not the rest of Greece ? They will not be 
able to hold out long against you ; but will soon disperse, and fly 
to their cities." 

Xerxes was very much pleased with the opinion of Artemisia ; 
he had before thought her an admirable woman, but now he 
praised her muc h more. However, he gave orders to follow the 
advice of the majority in this matter, thinking that they had be- 
haved ill at Euboea on purpose, because he was not present. He 
now prepared in person to behold them engaging by sea.' 

Meanwhile, those at Salamis were growing alarmed, and won- 
dered at the imprudence of Eurybiades ; till at last their discontent 
broke out openly, and a council was called, and much was said 
on the subject. Some said that they ought to sail for the 
Peloponnesus, and hazard a battle for that, and not stay and fight 
for a place already taken by the enemy ; but the Athenians, 
^ginetae, and Megareans, declared that they should stay there 
and defend themselves. Thereupon, Themistocles, when he saw 
his opinion was overruled by the Peloponnesians, went secretly 
out of the council, and despatched a man in a boat to the encamp- 
ment of the Medes instructing him what to say : his name was 
Sicinnus, and he was a domestic, and preceptor to the children of 
Themistocles. After these events, Themistocles got him made a 
Thespian, when the Thespians augmented the number of their 
citizens, and gave him a competent fortune. He, arriving in the 
boat, spoke as follows to the generals of the barbarians: "The 
o-eneral of the Athenians has sent me, unknown to the rest of the 
Greeks, (for he is in the interest of the king, and wishes that your 
affairs may prosper, rather than those of the Greeks,) to inform 
you that the Greeks, in great consternation, are deliberating on 
flight ; and you have now an opportunity of achieving the most 
glorious of all enterprises, if you do not suffer them to escape. 
For they do not agree among themselves, nor will they oppose 
you ; but you will see those who are in your interest, and those 
who are not, fighting with one another." Having delivered this 

' Seated on the mountain side upon a magnificent throne of ivory and gold, as others relate. 



IN VA SI ON OF A TTICA . 297 

message to them, he immediately departed. As these tidings ap- 
peared to them worthy of credit, they immediately landed a con- 
siderable number of Persians on the little island of Psyttalea, lying 
between Salamis and the continent ; and, when it was midnight, 
they got their western wing under way, drawing it in a circle 
toward Salamis, and those who were stationed about Ceos and 
Cynosura got under way and occupied the whole passage as far 
as Munychia with their ships, so that the Greeks might have no 
way to escape, but, being shut up in Salamis, might suffer punish- 
ment for the conflicts at Artemisium ; and they landed the Per- 
sians at the little island of Psyttalea for this reason : that, when an 
engagement should take place, as they expected the greater part 
of the men and wrecks would be driven there, they might save 
the one and destroy the other. These things they did in silence, 
that the enemy might not know what was going on. 

I am unable to speak against the truth of oracles, when I think 
of the remarkable oracle of Bacis : " When they shall bridge with 
ships the sacred shore of" Diana with the golden sword," and sea- 
girt Cynosura, having with mad hope destroyed beautiful Athens, 
then divine Vengeance shall quench strong Presumption, son of 
Insolence, when thinking to subvert all things. For bronze shall 
engage with bronze, and Mars shall redden the sea with blood. 
Then the far-thundering son of Saturn and benign victory shall 
bring a day of freedom to Greece." After such a prediction and 
its fulfilment, I neither dare myself say any thing in contradiction 
to oracles, nor allow others to do so. 

All this night there was a great altercation between the gene- 
rals at Salamis. They did not yet know that the barbarians had 
surrounded them with their ships. They supposed that they were 
in the same place where they had seen them stationed during the 
day. While the generals were disputing, Aristides, son of Lysi- 
machus, crossed over from the y^orina. He was an Athenian, but 
had been banished by ostracism. From what I have heard of his 
manner of life, I consider him to have been the best and most up- 
rioht man in Athens. He, standing at the entrance of the council. 



298 HERODOTUS. 

called Themistocles out, who was not indeed his friend, but his 
most bitter enemy ; yet from the greatness of the impending 
dano-er, he forgot that, and called him, for he had aleady heard 
that those from Peloponnesus were anxious to get the ships under 
way for the Isthmus. When Themistocles came out, Aristides 
spoke as follows : " It is right that we should strive, both on other 
occasions, and particularly on this, which of us shall do the greatest 
service to our country. I assure you, that to say little or much to 
the Peloponnesians about sailing from here is a waste of breath ; 
for I, an eye-witness, tell you, now, even if they would, neither 
the Corinthians, nor Eurybiades himself, will be able to sail away ; 
for we are on all sides enclosed by the enemy. Go in, and ac- 
quaint them with this." But Themistocles bade Aristides go in 
himself and convey the tidings. This he did, but the generals 
would not even then give credence to his report until there arrived 
a trireme of Tenians that had deserted, which Pansetius, son of 
Socimenes, commanded, and which brought an account of the 
whole truth. For that action the name of the Tenians was en- 
graved on the tripod at Delphi, among those who had defeated 
the barbarian. With this ship that came over at Salamis, and 
with the Lemnian before, off Artemisium, the Grecian fleet was 
made up to the full number of three hundred and eighty ships ; for 
before it wanted two of that number. 

Day dawned, and when they had mustered the marines, 
Themistocles, above all the others, haranged them most eloquently. 
His speech was entirely taken up in contrasting better things with 
worse, exhorting them to choose the best of all those things which 
depended on the nature and condition of man. As soon as the 
trireme from yEgina, which had gone to fetch the ^acidse re- 
turned the Greeks got all their ships under way. The barbarians 
immediately fell upon them. Now all the other Greeks began to 
back water and make for the shore ; but Aminias of Pallene, an 
Athenian, being carried onward, attacked a ship ; and his ship be- 
coming entangled with the other, and the crew not being able to 
clear, the rest thereupon came to the assistance of Aminias and 



IN VA SI ON OF A TTICA . 299 

engaged. Thus the Athenians say the battle commenced ; but 
the ^ginetse affirm that the ship which went to ^gina to 
fetch the y^acidse, was the first to begin. It is also said, that a 
phantom of a woman appeared to them, that she cheered them on, 
so that the whole fleet of Greeks heard her, after she had first 
reproached them in these words : ** Dastards, how long will you 
back water ? " Opposite the Athenians the Phoenicians were 
drawn up, for they occupied the wing toward Eleusis and westward ; 
opposite the Lacedaemonians, the lonians occupied the wing toward 
the east and the Piraeus. Of these some few behaved ill on 
purpose, in compliance with the injunctions of Themistocles. The 
greater part of the ships were run down at Salamis ; some being 
destroyed by the Athenians, others by the y^ginetae. For the 
Greeks fought in good order, in line, but the barbarians were 
neither properly formed nor did any thing with judgment. How- 
ever they proved themselves to be far braver on this day than off 
Euboea, every one exerting himself vigorously, and dreading 
Xerxes ; for each thought that he himself was observed by the 
king. 

I am unable to say with certainty how each of the barbarians 
or Greeks fought ; but with respect to Artemisia, the following in- 
cident occurred, by which she obtained still greater credit with the 
king. For when the king's forces were in great confusion, the 
ship of Artemisia was chased by an Attic ship, and not being able 
to escape, she resolved upon a strategem. For being pursued by 
the Athenian, she bore down upon a friendly ship, manned by 
Calyndians, and with Damasithymus himself, king of the Calyn- 
dians, on board ; whether she had any quarrel with him while they 
were at the Hellespont, I am unable to say, or whether she did it 
on purpose, or whether the ship of the Calyndians happened by 
chance to be in her way ; however, she ran it down, and sunk it, 
and by good fortune gained a double advantage to herself. For 
when the captain of the Attic ship saw her bearing down on a 
ship of the barbarians, he concluded Artemisia's ship to be either 
a Greek or one that had deserted from the enemy and was assist- 



300 HERO DO T US. 

ing- them, and so turned aside and attacked others. Thus she 
escaped, and in consequence of it became still more in favor with 
Xerxes. For it is said that Xerxes, looking on, observed her 
ship making the attack, and that some near him said : " Sire, do 
you see how well Artemisia fights ; she has sunk one of the 
enemy's ships ? " Whereupon he asked if it was in truth the ex- 
ploit of Artemisia ; they answered " that they knew the ensign of 
her ship perfecdy well." But they thought that it was an enemy 
that was sunk ; for no one of the crew of the Calyndian ship 
lived to tell the tale and accuse her. And it is related that Xerxes 
exclaimed : " My men have become women, and my women 
men." 

In this battle perished the admiral, Ariabignes, son of Darius, 
and brother of Xerxes, and many other illustrious men of the Per- 
sians and Medes, and the other allies ; but only a very few of the 
Greeks : for as they knew how to swim, they whose ships were 
destroyed, and who did no,t perish in actual conflict, swam safe to 
Salamis ; whereas, many of the barbarians, not knowing how to 
swim, perished in the sea. When the foremost ships were put to 
flight, then the greatest number were destroyed ; for those who 
were stationed behind, endeavoring to pass on with their ships to 
the front, that they, too, might give the king some proof of their 
courage, fell foul of their own flying ships. The following event 
also occurred in this confusion. Some Phoenicians, whose ships 
were destroyed, went to the king and accused the lonians of 
destroying their ships and betraying him. It, however, turned out 
that the Ionian captains were not put to death, but that those Phoe- 
nicians who accused them, received the following reward. For 
while they were yet speaking, a Samothracian ship bore down on 
an Athenian ship and sunk it. Just then an yEginetan ship, 
coming up, sunk the ship of the Samothracians. But the Samothra- 
cians being javelin-men, by hurling their javelins, drove the marines 
from the ship that had sunk them, and boarded and got possession 
of it. This action saved the lonians : for when Xerxes saw them 
perform so great an exploit, he turned round upon the Phoenicians, 



INVASION OF ATTICA. 30 1 

and ordered their heads to be struck off, that they who had proved 
themselves cowards, might no more accuse those who were braver. 

The barbarians turned to flight, and sailing away towards 
Phalerus, the ^ginetse waylaid them in the strait, and performed 
actions worthy of record. For the Athenians in the rout ran down 
both those ships that resisted and those that fled ; and the yEgine- 
tae, those that sailed away from the battle : so that when any 
escaped the Athenians they fell into the hands of the yEginetse. 

In this engagement the yEginetae obtained the greatest 
renown ; and next, the Athenians. Aristides, of whom I made 
mention a little before as a most upright man, in this confusion 
that took place about Salamis, took with him a considerable num- 
ber of heavy-armed men, who were stationed along the shore of 
the Salaminian territory and were Athenians by race, landed 
them on the island of Psyttalea, and put to the sword all the Per- 
sians who were on that little island. 



CHAPTER II. 

XERXEs' RETREAT. . . 

When the sea-fight was ended, the Greeks hauled on shore at 
Salamis all the wrecks that still happened to be there and held 
themselves ready for another battle, expecting the king would still 
make use of the ships that survived. But a west wind carrying 
away many of the wrecks, drove them on the shore of Attica, 
which is called Colias, so as to fulfil both all the other oracles 
delivered by Bacis and Musaeus concerning this battle, and also 
that relating to the wrecks which were drifted on this shore, which 
many years before had been delivered by Lysistratus, an Athen- 
ian augur, but had not been understood by any of the Greeks : 
" The Colian women shall broil their meat with oars." 

When Xerxes saw the defeat he had sustained he was afraid 
that some of the lonians miijht sufjorest to the Greeks, or micjht 
themselves resolve to sail to the Hellespont, for the purpose of 
breaking up the bridges, and shut him up in Europe. So he planned 
immediate flight. But wishing that his intention should not be 
known either to the Greeks or his own people, he pretended to 
throw a mound across to Salamis. He fastened together Phoeni- 
cian merchantmen, that they might serve instead of a raft and a 
wall, and made preparation for war, as if about to fight another 
battle at sea. Every body who saw him thus occupied, was firmly 
convinced that he had seriously determined to stay and continue 
the war, except Mardonius, who was well acquainted with his 
design. At the same time Xerxes despatched a messenger to the 
Persians, to inform them of the misfortune that had befallen him. 
There is nothing mortal that reaches its destination more rapidly 
than these couriers of the Persians. They say that as many days 



XERXES' RETREAT. 303 

as are occupied in the whole journey, so many horses and men are 
posted at regular intervals ; neither snow nor rain, nor heat, nor 
night, prevents them from performing their appointed stage as 
quickly as possible. The first courier delivers his orders to the 
second, the second to the third, and so it passes throughout, being 
delivered from one to the other, just like the torch-bearinp- amono- 
the Greeks, which they perform in honor of Vulcan. The first 
message that reached Susa, with the news that Xerxes was in pos- 
session of Athens, caused so great joy among the Persians who 
had been left behind, that they strewed all the roads with 
myrtle, burnt perfumes, and gave themselves up to sacrifices and 
festivity. But the arrival of the second messenger threw them into 
such consternation, that they all rent their garments, and uttered 
unbounded shouts and lamentations, laying the blame on Mar- 
donius, not so much grieved for the ships 
as anxious for Xerxes himself And this 
the Persians continued to do until Xerxes ""'^^^ ^^\^ ^ 
himself arrived home. 

Mardonius, seeing Xerxes much af- 
flicted by the defeat at Salamis, and celes ridden by a cupid. 
suspecting he was meditating a retreat, thus addressed the 
king : " Sire, do not think you have suffered any great loss 
in consequence of what has happened ; for the contest with us 
does not depend on wood alone, but on men and horses. Be not 
discouraged; for the Greeks have no means of escape from 
rendering an account of what they have done now and formerly, 
and from becoming your slaves. If you have resolved not to stay 
here, return to Susa, and take with you the greatest part of 
the army ; but give me three hundred thousand picked men and I 
will deliver Greece to you reduced to slavery." Xerxes, delighted 
and relieved, granted Mardonius his request. As to Xerxes him- 
self, if all the men and women of the world had advised him 
to stay, in my opinion, he would not have yielded, so great 
was his terror. Leaving Mardonius in Thessaly, he marched 
in all haste to the Hellespont ; and arrived at the place of crossing 




304 HERODOTUS. 

in forty-tive days, bringing back no part of his army, so to speak. 
Wherever, and among wliatever nation, they happened to be 
marching, they seized and consumed their corn ; but if they found 
no fruit, overcome by hunger, they ate up the herbage as it sprung 
from the ground, and from sheer hunger stripped off the bark 
of trees, and gathered leaves, both of wild and cultivated plants. 
But a pestilence and dysentery falling on the army, destroyed them 
on their march. Such of them as were sick, Xerxes left behind, 
ordering the cities through which he happened to be passing, to 
take care of and feed them : some in Thessaly, others at Siris of 
Pseonia, and in Macedonia. It was here he had left the sacred 
chariot of Jupiter, when he marched against Greece, but he did not 
receive it back, as he returned ; for the Paeonians had given it 
to the Thracians, and when Xerxes demanded it back, said that the 
mares had been stolen, as they were feeding, by the upper 
Thracians, who dwell round the sources of the Strymon. There 
the king of the Bisaltae and of the Crestonian territory, a Thracian, 
perpetrated a most unnatural deed ; he declared that he would 
not willingly be a slave to Xerxes, but he went up to the top 
of Mount Rhodope, and enjoined his sons not to join the expedi- 
tion against Greece. They, however, disregarded his prohibition, 
from a desire to see the war, and served in the army with 
the Persian : but when they all returned safe, six in number, their 
father had their eyes put out for this disobedience. 

The Persians, in great haste crossed over the Hellespont to 
Abydos in their ships ; for they found the rafts no longer stretched 
across, but broken up by a storm. While detained there, they got 
more food than on their march, and having filled themselves im- 
moderately, and drunk of different water, a great part of the army 
that survived, died ; the rest with Xerxes reached Sardis. Another 
account is also given, that when Xerxes in his retreat from Athens 
arrived at E'lon on the Strymon, from there he no longer continued 
his journey by land, but committed the army to Hydarnes to con- 
duct to the Hellespont, and he himself went on board a Phoenician 
ship to pass over to Asia. During his voyage a violent and 



XERXES' RETREAT. 3^5 

tempestuous wind from the Strymon overtook him ; the storm in- 
creased in violence, and the ship was overloaded, many of the 
Persians having accompanied Xerxes. Then the king, becoming 
alarmed, calling aloud, and asked the pilot if there was any hope 
of safety for them ; and he said : " There is none, sire, unless we 
get rid of some of this crowd of passengers." Xerxes, hearing 
this answer, said : " O Persians, now let some among you show 
his regard for the king, for on you my safety seems to depend." 
Many having done homage, leapt into the sea, and the ship, being 
lighted, thus got safe to Asia. It is added, that Xerxes, immedi- 
ately after he landed, presented the pilot with a golden crown, be- 
cause he had saved the king's life ; but ordered his head to be 
struck off, because he had occasioned the loss of many Persians. 
This story appears to me not at all deserving of credit, for if such 
a speech had been made by the pilot to Xerxes, I should not find 
one opinion in ten thousand to deny that the king would have sent 
down into the hold of the ship those who were on deck, since they 
were Persians, and Persians of high rank, and would have thrown 
into the sea a number of Phoenicians, equal to that of the Persians. 
When the division of the booty, after the battle of Salamis was 
completed, the Greeks sailed to the Isthmus, for the purpose of 
conferring the palm of valor upon him among the Greeks who had 
proved himself most deserving throughout the war. The generals 
distributed the ballots at the altar of Neptune, selecting the first 
and second out of all ; thereupon every one gave his vote for 
himself, each thinking himself the most valiant ; but with respect 
to the second place, the majority concurred in selecting Themisto- 
cles. So each had but one vote, for first place, but Themistocles 
had a great majority for the second honor. Though the Greeks, 
out of envy, would not determine this matter, but returned to their 
several countries without coming to a decision, yet Themistocles 
was applauded and extolled throughout all Greece, as being by far 
the wisest man of the Greeks. Because he was not honored by 
those who fought at Salamis, although victorious, he immediately 
afterward went to Lacedsemon, hoping to be honored there. The 



3o6 HERODOTUS. 

Lacedaemonians received him nobly, and paid him die greatest 
honors. They gave the prize of valor to Eurybiades, a crown of 
olive ; and of wisdom and dexterity to Themistocles, also a crown 
of olive. And they presented him with the most magnificent 
chariot in Sparta ; praising him highly, and on his departure, 
three hundred chosen Spartans, called knights, escorted him as far 
as the Tegean boundaries. He is the only man that we know of 
whom the Spartans ever escorted on his journey. 

Mardonius' first movement was to send Alexander, son of 
Amyntas, a Macedonian, as an ambassador to Athens ; as well 
because the Persians were related to him as because he had been 
informed that Alexander was a friend and benefactor of the Athen- 
ians. For in this way he thought he should best be able to gain 
over the Athenians, having heard that they were a numerous and 
valiant people ; and besides, he knew that the Athenians had been 
the principal cause of the late disaster of the Persians at sea. If 
these were won over, he hoped that he should easily become 
master at sea, which indeed would have been the case ; and on 
land he imagined that he was much superior : thus he calculated 
that his power would get the upper hand of the Greeks. But the 
Athenians gave the following answer to Alexander : " We our- 
selves are aware that the power of the Medes is far greater than 
ours ; so that there is no need to insult us with that. But do not 
you attempt to persuade us to come to terms with the barbarian, 
for we will not. Go, and tell Mardonius that the Athenians say : 
' So long as the sun shall continue in the same course as now, we 
will never make terms with Xerxes ; but we will go out to oppose 
him, trusting in the gods, who fight for us, and in the heroes, whose 
temples and images he has burned. Know, therefore, if you did 
not know it before, that so long as one Athenian is left alive, the 
fight shall be continued.' " 



BOOK IX. CALLIOPE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE WAR CONTINUED ; BATTLE OF PLAT.'EA AND SIEGE OF THEBES. 

When Alexander returned and made known to Mardonius the 
answer of the Athenians, he set out from Thessaly, and led his 
army in haste against Athens ; and wherever he arrived from time 
to time, he joined the people to his own forces. So far were the 
leaders of Thessaly from repenting of what had been before done, 
that they urged on the Persian much more : and Thorax of La- 
rissa, who had assisted in escorting Xerxes in his flight, now openly 
gave Mardonius a passage into Greece. When the army on its 
march arrived amone the Boeotians, the Thebans endeavored to 
restrain Mardonius from advancing farther, assuring him that to 
take up his station there would be equivalent to subduing the 
whole of Greece without a batde. For if the Greeks should con- 
tinue firmly united, as they had done before, it would be difficult 
even for all mankind to overcome them. " But," they continued, 
" if you do what we advise, you will without difficulty frustrate all 
their plans. Send money to the most powerful men in the cities ; 
split Greece into parties, and then, with the assistance of those 
who side with you, you may easily subdue those who are not in 
}'our interest." But he was infatuated with a vehement desire to 
taking Athens a second time, and fondly hoped, by signal-fires 
across the islands, to make known to the king while he was at 
Sardis, that he was in possession of Athens. When he arrived in 
Attica, he did not find the Athenians there ; but was informed 
that most of them were at Salamis on board their ships. So he 



J 



08 HERODOTUS. 



took the deserted city ten months after its capture by the king. 

But Mardonius was by no means desirous to stay longer in 
Attica. He Hngered awhile there to see what the Athenians 
would do, but neither ravaged nor injured the Attic territory, being 
in expectation all along that they would come to terms. But when 
he could not persuade them he withdrew, before the Spartans, 
under Pausanias, could reach the Isthmus, having first set fire to 
Athens, and if any part of the walls, or houses, or temples hap- 
pened to be standing, these he threw down and laid all in ruins. 
He marched out for the reason that the Attic country was not 
adapted for cavalry ; and if he should be conquered in an engage- 
ment, there was no way to escape except through a narrow pass, 
so that a very small number of men could intercept them. He 
determined therefore to retire to Thebes, and to fight near a 
friendly city, and in a country adapted for cavalry. 

The Lacedaemonians arrived at the Isthmus and went into 
camp. When the rest of the Peloponnesians, who favored the 
better cause, saw the Spartans marching out, they thought it 
would be a disgrace to absent themselves from the expedition of 
the Lacedaemonians. Accordingly, when the victims proved fav- 
orable, they all marched out from the Isthmus and advanced to 
Eleusis. The Athenians crossed over from Salamis, and joined 
them there. At Erythrai in Boeotia, they learnt that the barbarians 
were encamped on the Asopus, at which they consulted together, 
and formed opposite, at the foot of Mount Cithseron. When the 
Greeks did not come down to the plain, Mardonius sent against 
them all his cavalry, under command of Masistius, a man highly 
esteemed among the Persians. He was mounted on a Nisaean 
horse, that had a golden bit, and was otherwise gorgeously capari- 
soned. When the cavalry rode up to the Greeks, they charged 
them in squadrons, and called them women. By chance the Me- 
garians happened to be stationed in that part which was most ex- 
posed, and there the cavalry chiefly made their attack. The 
Megarians, being hard pressed, sent a herald to the Greek generals 
with this message : " The Megarians say. We, O confederates, are 



THE WAR CONTINUED. 



309 



not able alone to sustain the Persian cavalry. So far we have 
held out against them by our constancy and courage, though hard 
pressed ; but now, unless you will send some others to relieve us, 
we must abandon our post." Pausanias immediately called for 





volunteers to go to that position, and relieve the Megarians. 
When all the others refused, three hundred chosen men of the 
Athenians undertook to do it, whom Olympiodorus, son of Lam- 



3IO HERODOTUS. 

pon, commanded. After a short but spirited battle, as the cavalry- 
were charging, the horse of Masistius, being in advance of the 
others, was wounded in the flank by an arrow, and in pain, reared 
and threw Masistius. As he fell, the Athenians immediately 
seized his horse and attacked him. At first they were unable to 
kill Masistius, he was so thoroughly armed. Underneath he had 
a golden cuirass covered with scales, and over the cuirass a purple 
cloak. By striking against the cuirass they did nothing ; until one 
of them, perceiving what was the matter, pierced him in the eye. 
So he fell and died. The whole Persian army, and Mardonius 
most of all, mourned the loss of Masistius. They cut off their own 
hair and that of their horses and beasts of burden, and gave them- 
selves up to unbounded lamentations. The sound reached over 
all Boeotia, of mournino- for the loss of a man who, next to Mar- 
donius, was most esteemed by the Persians and the king. 

The Greeks placed the body on a carriage, and carried it along 
the line — an object worthy of admiration, on account of its stature 
and beauty — and the men, leaving their ranks, came out to view 
Masistius. After this, they determined to go down toward Plataea, 
for the Plataean territory appeared to be much more convenient 
for them to encamp in than the Erythraean, as it was better 
supplied with water. Over the foot of Mount Citha^ron, near Hy- 
sise, into the Platsean territory they marched, and formed in line, 
nation by nation, near the fountain of Gargaphia, and the precinct 
of the hero Androcrates, on slight elevations and the level plain. 
The whole Grecian army assembled at Platsea, reckoning heavy- 
armed and light-armed fighting men, amounted to one hundred 
and ten thousand. 

When the barbarians, with Mardonius, had ceased to mourn for 
Masistius, they also marched to the Asopus, which flows by 
Plataea, and on their arrival were drawn up by Mardonius. Of 
barbarians there were three hundred thousand, as has been al- 
ready shown ; but of Greeks who were allies of Mardonius no one 
knows the number, for they were not reckoned up ; but, to make 
a guess, I conjecture that they were assembled to the number of 



THE WAR CONTINUED. 



311 



fifty thousand. These were infantry ; the cavalry were marshalled 
apart. 

On the second day, both sides offered sacrifices. For the 
Greeks, Tisamenus, son of Antiochus, was the person who sacri- 
ficed, for he accompanied this army as diviner. The sacrifices 
were favorable to the Greeks, if they stood on the defensive ; but 
if they crossed the Asopus, and began the battle, not so. 

To Mardonius, who was very desirous to begin the battle, the 
sacrifices were not propitious ; but to him also, if he stood on the 
defensive, they were favorable : for he 
too adopted the Greek sacrifices, having 
for his diviner Hegesistratus, an Elean, 
and the most renowned of the Telliadae. 
This man, before these events, the Spar- 
tans had taken and bound for death, be- 
cause they had suffered many atrocious 
things from him. In this sad condition, as 
being in peril for his life, and having to 
suffer many tortures before death, he per- 
formed a deed beyond belief For as he 
was confined in stocks bound with iron, 
he got possession of a knife, which had 
by some means been carried in, and 
immediately cut off the broad part of 

his foot — the most resolute deed I ever heard of Then, as 
he was guarded by sentinels, he dug a hole through the wall 
and escaped to Tegea, travelling by night, and by day hiding him- 
self in the woods and tarrying there. Thus, though the Lacedae- 
monians searched for him with their whole population, on the third 
night he arrived at Tegea ; but they were struck with great amaze- 
ment at his daring, when they saw half his foot lying on the 
ground, and were not able to find him. In time, cured of his 
wounds, he procured a wooden foot, and became an avowed 
enemy to the Lacedaemonians. However, at last his hatred con- 
ceived against the Lacedaemonians did not benefit him ; for he was 




COAT OF MAIL. 



312 HERODOTUS. 

taken by them when acting as diviner at Zacynthus, and put to 
death. The death of Hegesistratus took place after the battle of 
Plataea : but at that time, on the Asopus, he was hired by Mar- 
donius for no small sum to sacrifice, and was very zealous, both 
from hatred to the Lacedaemonians and from a love of gain. 

Meantime, Timagenides, a Theban, advised Mardonius to guard 
the passes of Mount Cithaeron ; saying, that the Greeks were con- 
tinually pouring in every day, and that he would intercept great 
numbers. Eight days had already elapsed since they had been 
posted opposite each other ; but Mardonius thought the sugges- 
tion good, and as soon as it was night, sent some cavalry to the 
passes of Cithaeron, that lead to Plataea, which the Boeotians call 
The Three Heads ; but the Athenians, The Heads of Oak. The 
horsemen that were sent did not arrive in vain ; for issuing on the 
plain, they took five hundred beasts carrying provisions from 
Peloponnesus to the army, with the men who attended the beasts 
of burden. The Persians not only took the booty, but killed with- 
out mercy, sparing neither beast nor man. Two more days passed, 
neither being willing to begin the battle ; but when the eleventh 
day after the two armies had been encamped opposite each other 
in Plataea was almost gone, and the night was far advanced, and 
silence appeared to prevail throughout the camps, Alexander, son 
of Amyntas, who was general and king of the Macedonians, rode 
up on horseback to the sentries of the Athenians, and desired to 
confer with their generals. Most of the sentries remained at their 
posts, while some ran to the generals, and told them, " that a man 
had come on horseback from the camp of the Medes, who uttered 
not a word more, but, naming the generals, said he wished to con- 
fer with them." They immediately repaired to the out-posts, and 
Alexander addressed them as follows : " O Athenians, I leave 
these words with you as a deposit, entreating you to keep them 
secret, and not tell them to any other than Pausanias, lest you 
should ruin me. I should not utter them, were I not extremely 
concerned for the safety of all Greece ; for I am myself a Greek by 
origin, and would by no means wish to see Greece enslaved instead 



THE WAR CONTINUED. 313 

of free. I tell you, then, that the victims have not been favorable 
to Mardonius and his army, or else you would have fought lono- 
ago ; but now, he has determined to dismiss the victims, and to 
come to an engagement at dawn of day ; fearing, as I conjecture, 
that you may assemble in greater numbers. Therefore be ready. 
But if Mardonius should defer the engagement, and not undertake 
it, persevere remaining where you are, for in a few days provisions 
will fail him. And if this war should terminate according to your 
wishes, it is right that you should bear it in mind to effect my 
freedom, who on behalf of the Greeks have undertaken so hazard- 
ous a task, as to acquaint you with the intention of Mardonius, in 
order that the barbarians may not fall upon 
you unexpectedly. I am Alexander the 
Macedonian." Thus having spoken, he rode 
back to the camp and his own station. 

The generals of the Athenians went to 
the right wing, and told Pausanias what 
they had heard from Alexander ; but as the 
army was deprived of water and harassed 
by the cavalry of Mardonius, they remained 
to deliberate on these and other matters. 
They had no longer any provisions, and "^'^^ fisherman. 

their attendants, who had been despatched to the Peloponnesus 
to get provisions, were shut out by the cavalry, and unable to 
reach the camp. 

On consultation the generals of the allies resolved, if the Per- 
sians should defer making the attack on that day, to remove to the 
island of Oeroe, ten stades distant from the Asopus, on which 
they were then encamped. This is an island in the midst of the 
continent. For the river, dividing higher up, flows down to the 
plain from Mount Cithseron, having its streams about three stades 
separate from each other, and united together below. To this 
place they determined to remove, that they might have an abund- 
ant supply of water, and the cavalry might not harass them, as 
when they were directly opposite. So, in the night, at the hour 




314 HERODOTUS. 

aoreed upon, they fled from the cavalry toward the city of the 
Platseans until they arrived at the temple of Juno, which stands 
before the city of the Plataeans, twenty stades distant from the 
fountain of Gargaphia. They then encamped round the Heraeum 
and stood to their arms before the sacred precinct. 

When Mardonius was informed that the Greeks had withdrawn 
under cover of night, and saw the place deserted, he summoned 
Thorax, of Larissa, and said : " O son of Aleuas, what will you say 
now, when you see this ground deserted ? For you, their neigh- 
bor, said that the Lacedaemonians never fled from battle, but were 
the first of men in matters of war ; but now we all see that they 
have fled away during the past night, in terror of us, who are truly 
the most valiant in the world," Then without more ado he led 
the Persians at full speed, crossing the Asopus in the track of the 
Greeks, as if they had betaken themselves to flight. He directed 
his course only against the Lacedaemonians and Tegeans ; for on 
account of the hills he did not espy the Athenians, who had turned 
into the plain. The rest of the commanders of the barbarians' 
brigades, seeing the Persians advancing to pursue the Greeks, all 
immediately took up their standards, and pursued, each as quick 
as he could, without observing either rank or order ; thus they 
advanced with a shout and in a throng, as if they were about to 
overwhelm the Greeks. 

The Persians made a fence with their osier-shields, and let fly 
their arrows so incessantly that the Spartans being hard pressed, 
and the victims continuing unfavorable, Pausanias looked toward 
the temple of Juno of the Plataeans, and invoked the goddess, 
praying that they might not be disappointed of their hopes. 

While he was yet making this invocation, the Tegeans, starting 
first, advanced against the barbarians ; and immediately after the 
prayer of Pausanias, the victims became favorable to the Lacedae- 
monians. Then they advanced against the Persians, who with- 
stood them, laying aside their bows. First of all a battle took 
place about the fence of bucklers ; and when that was thrown 
down, a long, obstinate fight ensued near the temple of Ceres, till 



THE WAR CONTIiYUED. 



3i5 



at last they came to close conflict, when the barbarians laid hold of 
the Spartan spears and broke them. Indeed, in courage and 
strength, the Persians were not inferior, but were lightly armed, 




JUNO. 



ignorant of military discipline, and not equal to their adversaries 
in skill. They rushed forward upon the Spartans, only to perish. 



3l6 HERODOTUS. 

In that part where Mardonius happened to be, fighting upon a white 
horse, at the head of a thousand chosen men, the best of the Per- 
sians, there they pressed their adversaries most vigorously. For as 
long as Mardonius survived, they held out, defended themselves, 
and overthrew many of the Lacedaemonians ; but when Mardonius 
had died, and the troops stationed round him, which were the 
strongest, had fallen, then the rest turned to flight, and gave way 
to the Lacedaemonians. Their dress, too, was particularly disad- 
vantageous to them, being destitute of defensive armor. Here 
satisfaction for the death of Leonidas, according to the oracle, was 
paid to the Spartans by Mardonius ; and Pausanias obtained the 
most signal victory we have ever heard of. Mardonius died by 
the hand of A'lmnestus, a man of distinction at Sparta, who, some 
time after the Medic affairs, at the head of three hundred men, 
engaged at Stenyclerus with all the Messenians, and he himself 
perished and his three hundred. When the Persians at Plataea 
were put to flight by the Lacedaemonians, they fled in disorder to 
their own camp, and to the wooden fortification which they had 
made in the Theban territory. It is a wonder to me that, when 
they fought near the grove of Ceres, not one of the barbarians was 
seen to enter into the sacred enclosure, or to die in it, but most 
fell round the precinct in unconsecrated ground. I am of opinion, 
if it is allowable to form an opinion concerning divine things, that 
the goddess would not receive them because they had burnt her 
royal temple at Eleusis, 

When the Persians and the rest of the throng arrived in their 
flight at the wooden wall, they mounted the towers before the 
Lacedaemonians came up, and defended the wall in the best way they 
could ; so that when the Lacedaemonians arrived, a vigorous battle 
took place before the walls. So long as the Athenians were ab- 
sent, the barbarians defended themselves, and had much the ad- 
vantage over the Lacedaemonians, as they were not skilled in 
attacking fortifications ; but when the Athenians came, then a 
vehement fight at the walls took place, and continued for a long 
time. But at length the Athenians, by their valor and pluck, sur- 



THE WAR CONTINUED. 



z-^i 



mounted the wall, and made a breach ; there at lensfth the Greeks 
poured in. The Tegeans entered first, and plundered the tent of 
Mardonius, and among other things took away the manger for his 
horse, all of bronze, and well worth seeing. This manger of Mar- 
donius the Tegeans placed in the temple of the Alean Minerva ; 
but all the other things they took they carried to the same place 
as the rest of the Greeks. The barbarians no longer kept in close 




ELEGANT VASES AND AMPHORA. 



order, nor did any one think of valor ; but they were in a state of 
consternation, as so many myriads of men were enclosed within so 
small a space ; and the Greeks had such an easy opportunity of 
slaughtering them, that of an army of three hundred thousand 
men, except forty thousand with whom Artabazus fled, not three 
thousand survived. Of Lacedaemonians from Sparta> all that died 



31 8 HERODOTUS. 

in the engagement were ninety-one ; of Tegeans, sixteen ; and 
of Athenians, fifty-two. 

Pausanias made proclamation that no one should touch the 
booty, and commanded the helots to bring together all the treas- 
ures. Dispersing themselves through the camp, they found tents 
decked with gold and silver, and couches gilt and plated, and 
golden bowls, and cups, and other drinking vessels ; they also 
found sacks on the waggons, in which were discovered gold and sil- 
ver cauldrons : and from the bodies that lay dead they stripped 
bracelets, necklaces, and scimetars of gold ; but no account at all 
was taken of the variegated apparel. Of this the helots stole a 
greatdeal and soldittothe ^ginetae, so that the great wealth of the 
^ginetse here had its beginning, for they purchased gold from the 
helots as if it had been bronze. They collected the treasures to- 
gether, and took from them a tithe for the god at Delphi, from 
which the golden tripod was dedicated, which stands on the three- 
headed bronze serpent, close to the altar ; they also took a 
tithe for the god at Olympia, from which they dedicated 
the bronze Jupiter, ten cubits high ; and a tithe to the god 
at the Isthmus, from which was made the bronze Nep- 
tune, seven cubits high. They divided the rest, and each 
took the share he was entitled to, of the gold, silver, and 
other treasures, and beasts of burden. Now what choice treasures 
were given those others who most distinguished themselves at 
Plataea, is mentioned by no one. But for Pausanias, ten of 
every thing was selected and given him — slaves, horses, talents, 
camels, and all other treasures in like manner. It is said also that 
when Xerxes fled from Greece, he left all his own equipage to 
Mardonius ; Pausanias, therefore, seeing Mardonius' equipage 
furnished with gold, silver, and various-colored hangings, ordered 
the bakers and cooks to prepare a supper in the same manner as 
for Mardonius : and, astonished at the profusion set before him of 
gold and silver couches handsomely carved, and gold and silver 
tables, and magnificent preparations for the supper, he in derision 
ordered his own attendants to prepare a Laconian supper by the 



THE WAR CONTINUED. 3 19 

side of it, and when the repast was spread, the difference was so 
ridiculous that he laughed, and sent for the generals of the Greeks 
and said : " Men of Greece, I have called you together to show 
you the folly of the leader of the Medes, who left such sumptuous 
fare as this, to come to us, who have such poor fare, to take it 
from us." A considerable time after these events, many of the 
Platceans found chests of gold and silver, and other precious 
things. And still later was discovered a skull without any seam, 
consisting of one bone, and an upper jaw which had teeth growing 
in a piece, all in one bone, both the front teeth and the grinders ; 
and there was likewise discovered the skeleton of a man five cubits 
high. 

When the Greeks had buried their dead in Plataea, they im- 
mediately determined, on consultation, to march against Thebes, 
and to demand the surrender of those who had sided with the 
Medes, amongst the first of them Timegenides and Attaginus, 
who were the chief leaders ; and, if they should not give them up, 
they resolved not to depart from the city before they had taken it. 
On the eleventh day after the engagement, they arrived and be- 
sieged the Thebans, requiring them to give up the men ; and, re- 
ceiving " No " for an answer, they ravaged the country, and 
attacked the walls. As they did not cease damaging them, on the 
twentieth day Timegenides spoke thus to the Thebans : " Men of 
Thebes, since the Greeks have so resolved that they will not give 
over, besieging us until either they have taken Thebes, or you 
have delivered us up to them, let not the Boeotian territory suffer 
any more on our account. But if, being desirous of money, they 
demand us as a pretence, let us give them money from the public 
treasury ; for we sided with the Mede by general consent, and not 
of ourselves alone. If, however, they carry on the siege really be- 
cause they want us, we will present ourselves before them to plead 
our cause." He appeared to speak well and to the purpose ; and 
the Thebans immediately sent a herald to Pausanias, expressing 
their willingness to surrender the men. When they had agreed 
on these terms, Attaginus escaped from the city, and his sons, who 



320 HERODOTUS. 

were brought before him, Pausanias acquitted from the charge, 
saying that boys could have no part in the guilt of siding with the 
Mede. As to the others whom the Thebans delivered up, they 
thought that they should be admitted to plead their cause, and 
moreover trusted to repel the charge by bribery; but he, as soon 
as he had them in his power, suspecting this very thing, dismissed 
the whole army of the allies, and, conducting the men to Corinth, 
put them to death. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE BATTLE OF MYCALE. 

On the same day on which the defeat at Platsea occurred, 
another happened to take place at Mycale in Ionia. For while 
the Greeks were stationed at Delos, there came to them as am- 
bassadors from Samos, Lampon, Athenagoras, and Hegesistratus, 
being sent by the Samians, unknown to the Persians. When they 
came to the generals, Hegesistratus urged that " if only the lonians 
should see them, they would revolt from the Persians, and that the 
barbarians would not withstand them ; or, if they should withstand 
them, the Greeks would not find any other such booty." Invok- 
ing, too, their cornmon gods, he besought them to deliver Grecian 
men from servitude, and to repel the barbarian ; and he said, 
" that this would be easy for them to do, for their ships sailed 
badly, and were not fit to fight with them ; and, if they suspected 
at all that they were leading them on deceitfully, they were them- 
selves ready to go on board their ships as hostages." The Samian 
stranger was so earnest in his entreaties, that Leotychides asked : 
" O Samian friend, what is your name ? " " Hegesistratus," he 
answered ; upon which, interrupting the rest of his discourse, 
Leotychides exclaimed : " I accept the " Hegesistratus," "■ my 
Samian friend ; only do you take care that before you sail away 
both you yourself and those who are with you, pledge your faith 
that the Samians will be zealous allies to us." The Samians im- 
mediately pledged their faith and made oath of confederacy with 
the Greeks. The others sailed home, but he ordered Hegesis- 
tratus to sail with the fleet, regarding his name as an omen. The 
Greeks tarried that day, and on the next sacrificed auspiciously, 

' Hegesistratus means- "leader of an army." 



32 2 HERODOTUS. 

Deiphonus, son of Evenius, oi Apollonia in the Ionian gulf, acting 
as diviner. 

The following incident befel his father, Evenius. There are in 
this Apollonia sheep sacred to the sun, which by day feed near the 
river that flows from Mount Lacmon through the Apollonian ter- 
ritory into the sea, near the port of Oricus ; but by night, chosen 
men, the most eminent of the citizens for wealth and birth, keep 
watch over them, each for a year : for the Apollonians set a high 
value upon these sheep, in consequence of some oracle. They are 
folded in a cavern at a distance from the city. There, once on a 
time, Evenius, being chosen, kept watch, and one night when he 
had fallen asleep during his watch, wolves entered the cave, and 
destroyed about sixty of the sheep. When he discovered what 
had happened, he mentioned it to no one, purposing to buy others, 
and put them in their place. This occurrence, however, did not 
escape the notice of the Apollonians ; and as soon as they dis- 
covered it, they brought him to trial, and gave sentence that, for 
having fallen asleep during his watch, he should be deprived of 
sight. But after they had blinded Evenius, from that time forward 
neither did their sheep multiply, nor did the land yield its 
usual fruit. An admonition was given them at Dodona and Delphi, 
when they inquired of the prophets the cause of the present cala- 
mities " that they had unjustly deprived Evenius, the keeper of the 
sacred sheep, of his sight ; for they themselves had sent the wolves, 
and would not cease avenging him, until the people should give 
such satisfaction for what they had done, as he himself should 
choose, and think sufficient : then, the gods themselves would give 
such a present to Evenius, that most men would pronounce him 
happy, from possessing it." The Apollonians, keeping this answer 
secret, deputed some of their citizens to negociate the matter with 
Evenius. One clay when he was seated on a bench, they went 
and sat down by him, and conversed on different subjects, till at 
length they began to commiserate his misfortune, and leading him 
artfully on, they asked, " what reparation he would choose, if the 
Apollonians were willing to give him satisfaction for what they had 



THE BA TTLE OF M YCALE. 323 

done." Not having heard of the oracle he made this choice, " if 
any one would give him the lands of certain citizens," naming those 
who he knew had the two best estates in Apollonia, " and besides 
these a house," which he knew was the handsomest in the city, 
he said, " he would thenceforth forego his anger, and this repara- 
tion would content him." Immediately taking him up they said, 
" the Apollonians make you this reparation for the loss of your 
eyes, in obedience to an oracle they have received." He there- 
upon was very indignant, on hearing the whole truth, for he had 
been deceived ; but the Apollonians bought the property from the 
owners, and gave him what he had chosen, and immediately the 
gift of divination was implanted in him, so that he became very 
celebrated. 

Deiphonus, the son of this Evenius, was brought by the Cor- 
inthians to officiate as diviner to the army. 

The Greeks at length determined to sail to the continent : hav- 
ing therefore prepared boarding-ladders, and all other things that 
were necessary for a sea-fight, they sailed to Mycale. No one 
was seen near the camp, ready to meet them, but they beheld the 
ships drawn up within the fortification, and a numerous land- 
force disposed along the beach, thereupon Leotychides, advancing 
first in a ship, and nearing the beach as closely as possible, 
made proclamation by a herald to the lonians, saying : " Men 
of Ionia, as many of you as hear me, attend to what I say ; for the 
Persians will understand nothing of the advice I give you. When 
we engage, it behooves every one first of all to remember 
Liberty ; and next the watch-word, Hebe ; and let him who does 
not hear this, learn it from those who do hear." The meaning 
of this proceeding was the same as that of Themistocles at 
Artemisium ; for either these words, being concealed from the 
barbarians, would induce the lonians to revolt, or, if they should be 
reported to the barbarians, would make them distrustful of the 
Greeks. Then the Greeks put their ships to shore, landed on the 
beach, and drew up in order of battle. But when the Persians 
saw them preparing for action, and knew that they had admonished 



324 HERODOTUS. 

the lonians, they suspected that the Samians favored the Greeks, 
and took away their arms. 

Then the Greeks advanced toward the barbarians ; and a 
rumor flew through tlie whole army that a herald's staff was seen 
lying on the beach and that the Greeks had fought and conquered 
the army of Mardonius in Boeotia. Thus the interposition of 
heaven is manifest by many pl§in signs ; since on this same day on 
which the defeat at Platsea took place, and when that at Mycale 
was just about to happen, a rumor reached the Greeks in this 
latter place ; so that the army was inspired with much greater 
courage, and was more eager to meet danger. 

The Athenians, and those who were drawn up next to them, 
forming about half the army, had to advance along the shore over 
level ofround ; but the Lacedaemonians and their associates, alone 
a ravine and some hills. So that whilst the Lacedaemonians were 
making a circuit, those in the other wing were already engaged. 
Now, so long as the bucklers of the Persians remained standing, 
they defended themselves strenuously, and had not the worst 
of the battle ; but when the Athenians and their comrades mutually 
encouraged one another, in order that the victory might belong to 
them, and not to the Lacedaemonians, they flew with such vigor 
into the battle, that the face of affairs was immediately changed. 
They broke through the bucklers and fell in a body upon 
the Persians. They sustained the attack and defended themselves 
for a time but at last fled to the fortification. The Athenians, 
Corinthians, Sicyonians, and Troezenians, drawn up in order 
together, following close upon them, rushed into the fortification at 
the same time. When the fortification was taken, the barbarians 
no longer thought of resisting, but all except the Persians betook 
themselves to flight ; they, in small detachments, fought with the 
Greeks who were continually rushing within the fortification. And of 
the Persian generals, two made their escape, and two died. Ar- 
tayntes and Ithramitres, commanders of the naval forces escaped ; 
but Mardontes, and Tigranes, generals of the land army, died 
fighting. While the Persians were still fighting, the Lacedaemo- 



THE BA TTLE OF M YCALE. 



325 



nians came up, and assisted in accomplishing the rest. Of 
the Greeks themselves many fell on this occasion, especially the 
Sicyonians, and their general Perilaus. The Samians, who were in 
the camp of the Medes and had been deprived of their arms, 
as soon as they saw the battle turning, did all they could, wishing 
to help the Greeks ; and the rest of the lonians, as the Samians led 
the way, fled from the Persian?l|^nd attacked the barbarians. 
The Milesians had been appointed to guard the passes for the 
Persians so that in the event of failure they might have guides to 
conduct them to the heights of Mycale. They, however, did 
every thing contrary to what was ordered ; guiding them in their 




BAS-RELIEF OF THE MUSES. 



flight by other ways which led to the enemy, and at last themselves 
assisted in slaying them. Thus Ionia revolted a second time from 
the Persians. In this battle of the Greeks, the Athenians most dis- 
tinguished themselves. When they had killed most of the 
barbarians, some fighting and others flying, they brought out 
all the booty on the beach, including several chests of money, and 
burnt the ships and the whole fortification. Then they took into 
their alliance the Samians, Chians, Lesbians, and other islanders, 
who were then serving with the Greeks, bound them by pledges 
and oaths that they would remain firm and not revolt ; then 
sailed to the Hellespont, and home. 



SYNCHRONISTICAL TABLE OF 



GREEKS. 



Attica, Boeotia, 
P/wcis, j£,tolia, etc. 



B. c. 
Deucalion , . .1570 
Cecrops . . .1550 
Erectheus . . .1510 
Ion, son of Xuthus . 1427 
Rape of Medea by the 

Argonauts . .1349 

Theseus defeated 

Eurystheus . .1311 
Decaleans give up 
Helen to the Tyn- 
daridse . . . 1296 

Pelasgians expelled 
from Attica, con- 
quer Lemnos . . 1162 
Codrus . . • 1153 
Rape of Ath. women 

from Brauron . 1152 

Alcmaeon, the last 

Archon . , . 6S3 
Conspiracy of Ceylon 612 
Legislation of Solon . 594 
Megacles mar. Clis- 

thenes' daughter . 570 
Pisistraius, tyrant . 561 
Expelled . . -559 
Re-established . . 555 
Re-expelled . . 553 
Regains it . . 542 

Dies .... 528 
Hipparchus succeeds 528 
Assassina. of Cimon . 527 
Hipparchus assassin- 
ated . . .514 
Hippias succeeds . 514 
Expelled . . .510 
Factions of Clisthenes 

and Isagoras . . 509 

Clisthenes expelled . 508 
Inv. of Cleomenes . 507 
Athenians defeat the 
Boeotians, invade 
Euboea, and con- 
quer the Chalcid- 
ians . . . 506 
Miltiades gains the 

battle of Marathon 490 
Dies .... 489 
Xerxes takes Athens . 4S0 
Battle of Salamis . 480 
Mardonius retakes 
Athens . . . 479 



Peloponnesus. 



Rape of lo from Argos 
Pelops conq. the Pelopon . 
Eurystheus conquered 
Rape of Helen 
Aristodemus conq. the Pelo. 



16S7 
1362 
1311 
1290 
1 190 



Lacedxmon. 

Procles and Eurys- 
thenes kings 11 78 

Theras col. Callis- 
ta (Thera) . 11 50 

Lycurgus . 8S4 

Battus migrates 
from Cal. and 
founds Cyrene 632 

First war witli 
Tegea . . 620 

Ariston and An- 
axandrides, 
kings of Lace- 
doemon . -574 

Ally with Croe- 
sus . . 554 

Tegea taken . 546 

War with Argives 
about Thyrea 545 

Send troops ag't. 
Poly crates . 525 

Demaratus . 520 

Cleomenes . 515 

Dorieus migrates 
to Libya . 515 

Cleo. violates the 
Argive grove 514 

Cleomenes ex- 
pels Clisthenes 
from Athens . 508 

Invades Attica . 507 

Demaratus ex- 
iled . . 492 

Leotychides 

king . .492 

Cleomenes kills 
himself . . 490 

Leonidas slain at 
Thermopylae 4S0 

Pausanias wins 
at Plalaea . 479 

Leotychides at 
Mycale . 479 



Corinth. 

Oligarchy of 

Bacchiadze. 
Cypselus 

bom . 700 
Seizes the 

trannny 663 
Periander 633 
Banishes 

Lycophron 

575 
Sends 300 

Corcyrasan 

boys to 

Alyattes 565 
Dies . 563 

Miltiades, 

son of 

Cypselus, 

founds 

Cherson- 

esus . 560 
Stesagoras 

succeeds 

531 
Miltiades, 
son of 
Cimon, 
succeeds 

515 
Takes Lem- 
nos . 510 
Retires be- 
fore the 
Scythians 

507 
Escapes 
from the 
Persians 
to Imbros 

497 
At the bat- 
tle of Sa- 
lamis . 480 



Greeks in Asia 
and the Islands. 



B. c. 
Ion goes to Asia 

1391 

/Eolian migra- 
tions under 
Orestes, Pen- 
thilus, and E- 
chelatus 1210-1174 

Ionian migra- 
tions (driven 
from the Pe- 
lop. by the 
Achasans) 1130 

Dorian migration. 

Samians reach 
Tartessus . 64a 

Thrasybulus . 625 

Conquered by 
Croesus 

Conquered by 
Harpagus . 542 

PhocEeans defeat 
Carthaginians, 
etc. 

Found Hyela . 535 

Polycrates ty- 
rant at Samos 

532-523 

Samians found 
Cydonia . 524 

Syloson obtains 
Samos . .512 

lonians com- 
mence dis- 
turbances . 504 

Burn Sardis . 503 

Joined by the_ 
Cyprians . 502 

Miletus taken . 498 

Aristagoras 

slain . . 498 

Samians take 

Zancle . . 497 

Chios, Tenedos, 
etc., taken by 
the Persians . 497 

Phocians de- 
feat Thessa- 
lians . . 482 

lonians join the 
allies at My- 
cale . . 479 



326 



THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN HERODOTUS. 



BARBARIANS. 



Phoenicians. 



Migrated 

from the 

Erythrcean 

to 

Phoenicia, 

about 

2267. 

Colonized 

Thasos, 

1550. 

Founded 

Carthage, 

819. 

Circumnavi- 
gate Libya, 
609. 



Egyptians. 



God-kings, 
17570 

to 
15570. 

Mencs 

to 

Mneris, 

2235 

to 
1416. 

Sesostris 

to 

Sethon, 

1416 

to 
C71. 

Twelve king 

to 

Amasis 

671 

to 

525. 



Assyrians and Babylonians. 



Empire 
Semiramis 
Medic revolt 

Babylonia. 

Niiocris, 
604 to 561. 
Turns the 
Euphrates 
and im- 
proves 
Babylon. 

Labynetus 

(Belshazzar), 

son of 

Nitocris, 

succeeds. 

Arbitrates 

between 

Cyaxares 

and 
Alyattes. 



B.C. 

1221 — 711 

747—733 
711 

Media, etc. 

Deioces, 700. 
Div. the Medes. 
Phraortes, 647. 
Invades Assyria 
Perished before 
Nineveh. 

Cyaxares, 625. 

Conq. Assyria. 

Besieges 

Nineveh, 603. 

Scythian inva- 
sion, 624 — 596. 

Astyages, 585. 

Cyrus born, 

571- 

King in sport, 

561. 

Persian Empire 



Lvdians. 



Atyadse to 

1221. 
Heraclidffi, 
1221 — 716. 

Gyges, 716. 

Ardys, 678. 

Cimmerians 

take Sardis, 

634- 

Sadyattes, 

629. 

Milesian war, 

622 — 610. 
Alyattes, 617. 

Drove out 

Cimmerians, 

613. 

War with 

Cyaxares, 602. 

Croesus, 560. 

Conquers 
Greeks. 

Visited by 
Solon. 



Cyrus, king, 
550. 
Attacked by Croesus. Conquers 
Lydia, and takes Sadis. Ma- 
zares punishes Lydian rebels. 
Ilarpagus takes Phocrea, con- 
quers Ionia and .^olis. 
Babylon taken by Cyrus, 536. 
Massagetan expedition. Cyrus slain, 530. 
Cambyses, 530 — 523. Conquers Egypt, 525. 
Unsuccessful expedition against the Ethiopians and Annnonians. Wounds 
Apis. Goes mad. Slays his brother Smerdis. Marries and kills his sister. 
Magian revolt. Dies, 523. 
Smerdis Magus, 523. Conspiracy of the Seven. Death of the Magi. 
Darius, 522 — 485. Sends Democydes to spy Greece. Babylonian revolt. Baby- 
lon taken by Zopyrus, 516. Restores Syloson to Samos, 512. Barca conquered, 
512. Invades Scythia, 508. Megabazus subdues Thrace. Otanes subdues 
Lemnos and Imbros. Disturbances in Ionia. Burning of Sardis, 503. Cy- 
prians join the revolt, 502 ; conquered, 501. Miletus taken, 498. Pacifica- 
tion of Ionia, 497. Mardonius marches against Greece, 495. Wrecked at 
Athos. Darius sends to Greece for earth and water, 493. Expedition of 
Datis and Artaphernes, 492 ; enslave Naxos andEretria, 490. Marathon, 490. 
Preparations for another invasion, 4S9. Egyptian revolt, 486. 
Xer.xes, 485 — 479. Subdues Egypt, 484. Prepares for a Greek expedition. 
Leaves Susa, April, 481. Winters at Sardis. Battle of Thermopylae, 480. 
Takes Athens, 480. Battle of Salamis, Sept., 480. Retires to Asia. Mar- 
donius defeated at Platsea, and the Persian fleet at Mycale, the same day, Sept. 
22, 479. 



Scythians 

and 

Cimmerians. 



Cimmerians 

invade 

Asia, 

but 

expelled 

by the 

Scythians 

about 

624. 

Scythians 

rule 
•Upper 
Asia, 
624 
to 
596- 

Invaded 

by 
Darius, 

508. 

Invade 

the 

Cherso- 

nesus ; 

Miltiades 

retires, 

507. 



327 



HERODOTEAN WEIGHTS AND MONEY, DRY AND LIQUID 
MEASURES, AND MEASUREMENTS OF LENGTH. 

Eubaic or Attic Silver Weights and Money. 



I Obol 

6 Obols . 

lOo Drachmae 

60 Minse . 



I Drachma 
I Mina 
I Talent . 



WEIGHT (Avoirdupois). VALUE. 

lbs. oz. grs. 

. — — II.03 $.033 

— — 66.5 .193 

• — 15 33-75 19-784 

56 15^ 100.32 1187.00 



grs. 
16 



$.04| 
27.00 



yEginetan Silver IVeig/its and Money. 

lbs. oz. 

I Obol — — 

6 Obols ... I Drachma . . — — 96 
100 Drachmae . . i Mina , . . i 5f 78.96 

60 Minae . . . i Talent . . . 82 3J 30.46 1620.00 

The gold Stater of Croesus and the gold Daric are each supposed to be worth about 20 Attic silver 

drachmae, or about $4.00 in our money. 
Herodotus makes the Babylonian Talent equal to 70 Eubceic Minse, but Hussey calculates its 
weight at fill's. i\oz. 69. 45^;-^-. If, however, these are reckoned by comparison with our 
gold money, they are worth much more. 



Attic Dry Measures. 



I Choenix 
j8 Choenices 
I Medimnus and 
3 Choenices . 



I Medimnus 

I Persian Artaba 



Gallons. Quarts. 

— I 

12 — 

12 % 



Liquid Measures. 

Gallons. Pints. 
I Choenix ......... — i^ 

48 Choenices . . . i Amphora ... 9 — 

Hesychius considers the Aryster to be the same as the Cotyla, which Hussey calculates to hold 
half a pint. 



Measures of Length. 

Digit (finger's breadth) 
Digits . 
Palms 
Palms . 
Spans or 6 Palms 
Cubit and 6 Digits 
Cubits 
100 Feet or i6f Orgyse 

6 Plethra 
30 Stadia . 
2 Parasangs . 
The Egyptian Cubit contained nearly 17-I inches. 
The Arura contained 21,904 square English feet, or a fraction ov 

328 



Palm (hand-breadth) 

Span 

Foot . 

Cubit . 

Royal Cubit 

Fathom (Oigya) . 

Plethrum . 
I Stadium 
I Persian Parasang 
I Schoenus 



Miles. Yards. Feet. 



3 
64 



33 
202 

787 
494 



er half an acre. 



Inches- 

■7584 

3.0336 

9.1008 

0.135 

6.2016 

8.4768 

0.81 

1-5 

9 

6 

o 



